Shloka 20
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
कर्णका ज्येष्ठ पुत्र महारथी वृषसेन पृष्ठरक्षक था। वह स्वयं ही कर्णके पृष्ठभागकी रक्षा कर रहा था ।।
karṇasya jyeṣṭhaḥ putro mahārathī vṛṣasenaḥ pṛṣṭharakṣakaḥ; sa svayam eva karṇasya pṛṣṭhabhāgasya rakṣāṃ karoti sma. dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ sātyakiś ca draupadeyā vṛkodaraḥ janamejayaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca prabhadrakāḥ pramukhāḥ prāvīrāś ca; te sarve rādheyaṃ karṇaṃ hantum icchantaḥ kavacinaḥ samabhyadravan.
Sañjaya said: Karṇa’s eldest son, the great chariot-warrior Vṛṣasena, served as his rear-guard, personally protecting Karṇa’s back. Then, resolved to slay Rādheya Karṇa, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Sātyaki, the five sons of Draupadī, Vṛkodara (Bhīma), Janamejaya, Śikhaṇḍin, and the foremost Prabhadraka heroes—armoured and intent on striking—rushed upon him together.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights two intertwined kṣatriya values in war: steadfast loyalty (Vṛṣasena guarding his father’s vulnerable rear) and strategic necessity (the opposing side concentrating force to neutralize a decisive warrior). It implicitly raises the ethical tension between individual heroism and collective tactics in a dharma-framed conflict.
Vṛṣasena, Karṇa’s eldest son, is positioned as Karṇa’s rear-guard and actively protects him. At the same time, multiple Pāṇḍava-aligned champions—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Sātyaki, the Draupadeyas, Bhīma, Janamejaya, Śikhaṇḍin, and Prabhadraka heroes—armour up and charge together, intent on killing Karṇa.