Shloka 231
कर्णार्जुनयुद्ध-प्रवृत्तिः
Renewal of the Karṇa–Arjuna Engagement at Day’s End
मेकलोत्कलकालिड्ञा निषधास्ताम्रलिप्तका: । शरतोमरवर्षाणि विमुज्चन्तो जिघांसव:
Mekalotkalakāliṅgā niṣadhās tāmraliptakāḥ | śaratomaravarṣāṇi vimuñcanto jighāṃsavaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: The warriors from Mekala, Utkala, and Kalinga, along with the Nishadhas and the men of Tamralipta—intent on killing—kept hurling down showers of arrows and javelins.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies the impulse to kill (jighāṃsā) and turns many communities into instruments of destruction; ethically, it underscores the dehumanizing momentum of battle where intent (to slay) drives action (missile-showers).
Sañjaya reports that fighters from several regions—Mekala, Utkala, Kaliṅga, Niṣadha, and Tāmralipta—are actively attacking, releasing dense volleys of arrows and javelins during the battle described in Karṇa Parva.