Shloka 20
Karṇa-vadha-pratyaya: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Verification of Karṇa’s Fall (कर्णवध-प्रत्ययः)
गुप्त: कुरुप्रवीरैश्व मद्राणां च महारथै: । पाण्डवै: सह पज्चालै क्षेदिभि: सात्यकेन च
guptaḥ kurupravīraiś ca madrāṇāṁ ca mahārathaiḥ | pāṇḍavaiḥ saha pañcālaiḥ śaidebhiḥ sātyakena ca ||
Sañjaya said: He was kept under protection—by the heroic Kurus and by the great chariot-warriors of Madra; and likewise by the Pāṇḍavas together with the Pañcālas, the Śaideyas, and Sātyaki.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the wartime ethic of collective duty: safeguarding a crucial person is not merely personal loyalty but an organized responsibility shared by allied groups, reflecting how dharma in battle often appears as disciplined protection and coordinated support.
Sañjaya reports that a particular figure (implied from the surrounding context) is being closely guarded by multiple allied contingents—Kuru champions, Madra great warriors, and on the other side the Pāṇḍavas with the Pañcālas, Śaideyas, and Sātyaki—emphasizing the intensity of protection and the convergence of forces.