Shloka 20
कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat
पश्य कृष्ण महाबाहो संशप्तकगणान् बहून् । कुर्वाणान् दारुणं कर्म वध्यमानान् सहस्रश:,“महाबाहु श्रीकृष्ण! देखिये, ये क्रूरतापूर्ण कर्म करनेवाले बहुसंख्यक संशप्तक योद्धा किस प्रकार सहस्रोंकी संख्यामें मारे जा रहे हैं
paśya kṛṣṇa mahābāho saṁśaptakagaṇān bahūn | kurvāṇān dāruṇaṁ karma vadhyamānān sahasraśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Behold, O Kṛṣṇa, mighty-armed one—those numerous bands of the Saṁśaptakas. Though they persist in grim and ruthless deeds, they are being cut down in their thousands.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical causality within the epic’s war narrative: those engaged in dāruṇa-karma (cruel, ruthless action) meet destruction despite their numbers and vows. It points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring theme that violent resolve and collective might cannot ultimately override the moral weight and consequences of one’s actions.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, draws attention to Kṛṣṇa: the Saṁśaptaka contingents—known for their fierce, vowed fighting—are being slaughtered in great numbers amid the ongoing combat.