Shloka 16
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
तस्यैभिरय्युध्यमानस्य संग्रामे संयतात्मन: । अन्यैरपि च पार्थस्य हृत॑ वर्म महारथै:
tasyābhir ayudhyamānasya saṅgrāme saṃyatātmanaḥ | anyair api ca pārthasya hṛtaṃ varma mahārathaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: While that son of Pṛthā fought in the battle with a disciplined and steady mind, his armour was stripped away—broken and taken off—by those great chariot-warriors and by others as well. The report underscores how, amid the press of war, even a righteous and self-controlled king can be physically exposed by the combined force of powerful opponents.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the contrast between inner discipline (saṃyatātmā) and outer vulnerability: moral steadiness does not guarantee physical safety in war, and righteousness must endure even when protection is stripped away.
Sañjaya reports that the son of Pṛthā—understood here as Yudhiṣṭhira—was fighting steadily in the battle, but his armour was removed/destroyed by multiple great chariot-warriors (including those aligned with Duryodhana, as implied by the surrounding narration).