Shloka 48
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
क्षणेनासीन्महीपाल क्षतजैधिप्रवर्तिनी । पञ्चालानहनत् कर्णस्त्रिगर्ताश्न धनंजय:,भूपाल! क्षणभरमें वहाँ भूतलपर खूनकी नदी बह चली। कर्णने पंचालोंका और अर्जुनने त्रिगर्तोंका संहार कर डाला
kṣaṇenāsīnmahīpāla kṣatajaughapravartinī | pañcālān ahanat karṇas trigartān dhanañjayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O king, in a moment the ground was set flowing like a river with torrents of blood. Karṇa cut down the Pañcālas, while Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) slaughtered the Trigartas—an image of war’s swift, indiscriminate devastation, where prowess and duty on the battlefield eclipse ordinary moral restraints.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the terrifying speed and scale of battlefield destruction: once war is fully engaged, bloodshed becomes a ‘flood,’ and even renowned heroes enact their kṣatriya-duty through mass killing—highlighting the ethical tension between dharma-as-duty and the human cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the fighting intensifies: the ground is drenched as if a river of blood flows; Karṇa devastates the Pañcāla forces, and Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) annihilates the Trigarta warriors.