Shloka 12
अध्याय २९: कर्णस्य शल्यं प्रति शापस्मरणं च युद्धनिश्चयः | Chapter 29: Karṇa recalls curses to Śalya and declares resolve for battle
उस समय आपके हितैषी सुहृद् अतिरथी वीर वहाँ शिनिवंशशिरोमणि सात्यकिके शरोंसे अत्यन्त पीड़ित हुए महारथी कर्णके पास हाथी, घोड़े, रथ और पैदलोंकी चतुरंगिणी सेना साथ लेकर तुरंत आ पहुँचे ।।
tad-udadhi-nibham ādravad balaṁ tvarita-taraiḥ samabhidrutaṁ paraiḥ | drupada-suta-mukhaiḥ tadā bhavat-puruṣa-ratha-aśva-gaja-kṣayo mahān ||
Sañjaya said: Then your well-wishing heroes, mighty atirathas, arrived at once beside Karṇa, the great chariot-warrior, sorely afflicted by the arrows of Sātyaki, jewel of the Śini line, bringing with them the fourfold host—elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry. Thereafter the swift-moving foes, led by the sons of Drupada such as Dhrishtadyumna, fell upon your ocean-like army, and your forces too rushed toward the enemy. Then a great slaughter began—of men, chariots, horses, and elephants.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war: when armies collide, the scale of destruction becomes indiscriminate—men and the very instruments of power (chariots, horses, elephants) are consumed. It implicitly warns that political ambition and enmity, once unleashed, generate suffering beyond any single warrior’s intent.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava host, vast like the sea, charges, but the opposing side rushes in even faster. With Drupada’s sons leading, a fierce clash ensues, resulting in massive losses of soldiers and war-assets—chariots, horses, and elephants.