Shloka 373
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
द्रोणहन्तारमुग्रेषु ससाराभिमुखो रणे । राजा दुर्योधनका हित चाहनेवाला महाबली कर्ण सात्यकिको परास्त करके रणभूमिमें भयंकर बाण धारण करनेवाले द्रोणहन्ता धृष्टद्युम्मके सामने गया
droṇahantāram ugreṣu sasāra abhimukho raṇe | rājā duryodhanakā hita-cāhanevālā mahābalī karṇaḥ sātyakim parāstya raṇabhūmau bhayaṅkara-bāṇa-dhāriṇaṃ droṇahantāraṃ dhṛṣṭadyumnam abhimukhaṃ jagāma |
Sañjaya said: In the thick of the fierce fighting, Karṇa—mighty and intent on Duryodhana’s welfare—rushed straight into the battle. Having subdued Sātyaki, he advanced on the battlefield toward Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the slayer of Droṇa, who stood armed with dreadful arrows. The scene shows how loyalty to one’s chosen cause drives warriors toward decisive confrontations, even as the war’s moral weight deepens with each targeted killing.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how steadfast loyalty and the pursuit of strategic advantage propel warriors toward direct confrontation; yet it also points to the ethical burden of war, where identities become tied to acts of killing (e.g., “slayer of Droṇa”), intensifying the moral stakes of each encounter.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, acting for Duryodhana’s benefit, has checked/defeated Sātyaki and then advances to face Dhṛṣṭadyumna—known as Droṇa’s slayer—who stands ready with fearsome arrows on the battlefield.