Shloka 53
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
द्रौपदेयास्त्रिसप्तत्या युयुधानस्तु सप्तभि: । भीमसेनश्षतुःषष्टया सहदेवश्व सप्तभि:
sañjaya uvāca |
draupadeyās tri-saptatyā yuyudhānas tu saptabhiḥ |
bhīmasenaś catuḥṣaṣṭyā sahadevaś ca saptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Draupadī’s sons struck Karṇa with seventy-three arrows, and Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) with seven. Bhīmasena pierced him with sixty-four, and Sahadeva with seven. Thus, in the press of battle, the Pāṇḍava side concentrated their force upon Karṇa, seeking to check his momentum through coordinated, measured violence—an act framed within kṣatriya-duty amid the relentless ethics of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within war, action is portrayed as governed by role-based duty (kṣatriya-dharma): force is applied with purpose—checking an opponent’s threat—rather than as mere cruelty, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s tension between necessity in battle and moral restraint.
Sañjaya reports that multiple Pāṇḍava warriors—Draupadī’s sons, Sātyaki, Bhīma, and Sahadeva—shoot specified numbers of arrows at Karṇa, indicating a coordinated assault to wound and contain him during the Kurukṣetra battle.