Shloka 32
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
तथैव सूतपुत्रेण प्रेषिता: परमाहवे । पाण्डुपुत्रमवच्छाद्य व्यतिष्ठन्ताम्बरे शरा:
tathaiva sūtaputreṇa preṣitāḥ paramāhave | pāṇḍuputram avacchādya vyatiṣṭhantāmbare śarāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the same way, in that supreme battle, the arrows discharged by the charioteer’s son (Karna) covered the son of Pāṇḍu (Nakula) and seemed to stand spread across the sky—so dense was the shower that it veiled the warrior.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the overwhelming force of martial skill in war: a dense volley can metaphorically ‘cover the sky’ and conceal an opponent. Ethically, it highlights how battle often becomes a contest of sheer intensity and capability, where restraint is eclipsed by the drive to overpower.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa releasing a thick shower of arrows in the great battle. Those arrows cover the Pāṇḍava warrior (identified in context as Nakula), appearing to fill the sky as they surround and conceal him.