Shloka 56
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
तत्राकरोन्महाराज कदनं सूतनन्दन: । मध्य॑ प्राप्ते दिनकरे चक्रवद् विचरन् प्रभु:
tatrākaron mahārāja kadanaṃ sūtanandanaḥ | madhye prāpte dinakare cakravad vicarann prabhuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, there Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, wrought a dreadful slaughter. As the sun reached midday, that mighty lord moved like a wheel—circling on every side—and brought great destruction upon the Pāṇḍava host.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the relentless, almost mechanical force of warfare: a single powerful warrior, moving strategically ‘like a wheel,’ can cause vast destruction. It implicitly intensifies the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension—martial excellence and duty on one side, and the immense human cost on the other.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, as the sun reaches midday, ranges around the battlefield in circular maneuvers and inflicts heavy casualties on the Pāṇḍava troops.