Shloka 48
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
नकुलं त्रिंशता बाणै: शतानीकं च सप्तभि: । शिखण्डिनं च दशभिर्धर्मराजं॑ शतेन च,तदनन्तर पुन: कौरव और पाण्डव योद्धा निर्भय होकर एक-दूसरेसे भिड़ गये। एक ओर युधिष्ठिर आदि कुन्तीपुत्र थे और दूसरी ओर कर्ण आदि हमलोग ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
nakulaṁ triṁśatā bāṇaiḥ śatānīkaṁ ca saptabhiḥ |
śikhaṇḍinaṁ ca daśabhir dharmarājaṁ śatena ca |
tad-anantaraṁ punaḥ kauravāḥ pāṇḍavāś ca yoddhā nirbhayāḥ parasparaṁ samabhidudruvuḥ |
ekato yudhiṣṭhirādayaḥ kuntīputrāḥ, anyato karṇādayo vayam ||
Sañjaya said: (Karna) struck Nakula with thirty arrows, Śatānīka with seven, Śikhaṇḍin with ten, and Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) with a hundred. Thereafter, the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava warriors, fearless, once again rushed at one another and engaged in close combat—on one side stood Yudhiṣṭhira and the sons of Kuntī, and on the other stood Karṇa and our forces.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield dimension of kṣatriya-dharma: fearlessness and steadfast engagement in duty, even when the righteous king (Dharmarāja) is directly attacked. It also implicitly points to the ethical tension of war—valor and obligation operating amid escalating harm.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa (or the Kaurava champion in context) wounds key Pāṇḍava-side warriors—Nakula, Śatānīka, Śikhaṇḍin, and especially Yudhiṣṭhira with a hundred arrows—after which both armies again charge and clash fearlessly, forming two opposing fronts: Yudhiṣṭhira’s party versus Karṇa’s.