Shloka 47
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
धनंजययुगान्ताक: संशप्तकमहार्णवम् | व्यशोषयत दुःशोषं॑ ती3क्ष्पै: शरगभस्तिभि:
dhanañjaya-yugāntākaḥ saṁśaptaka-mahārṇavam | vyaśoṣayat duḥśoṣaṁ tīkṣṇaiḥ śara-gabhastibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Dhanañjaya—like the sun at the end of an age—dried up the vast ocean of the Saṁśaptakas, an ocean hard to desiccate, with his sharp arrows blazing like fierce rays.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfast resolve and disciplined power in a righteous struggle: when purpose is firm and action is precise, even a formidable, seemingly inexhaustible opposition can be decisively overcome.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s onslaught against the Saṁśaptaka contingent. Using a grand simile, he says Arjuna—like the end-of-age sun—‘dries up’ their vast host with volleys of sharp arrows, rapidly thinning and breaking their ranks.