Shloka 46
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
अथान्यं रथमास्थाय वृषसेनो महारथ:
sañjaya uvāca |
athānyaṃ ratham āsthāya vṛṣaseno mahārathaḥ |
karṇasya yudhi durdharṣas tataḥ pṛṣṭham apālayat ||
Sanjaya said: Then Vrishasena, the great chariot-warrior—hard to assail in battle—mounted another chariot and thereafter guarded Karna’s rear. In the ensuing clash, intent on victory, Karna’s son struck the foremost Pāṇḍava champions with volleys of arrows, wounding Draupadī’s sons, Sātyaki, Bhīmasena, Sahadeva, Nakula, Śatānīka, Śikhaṇḍin, and even King Yudhiṣṭhira. Having thus pained these leading warriors (and others as well) with his shafts, the formidable hero again took up the task of protecting Karna from attacks coming from behind.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights battlefield dharma as expressed through loyalty and protective duty: Vrishasena’s role is not merely to attack but to safeguard his leader’s vulnerable flank, showing disciplined service and strategic responsibility within the harsh ethics of war.
Vrishasena mounts another chariot and takes position as Karna’s rear-guard. In the broader action described in the surrounding narration, he and/or Karna inflict arrow-wounds on major Pāṇḍava fighters; afterward Vrishasena resumes guarding Karna from attacks from behind.