Shloka 15
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
कृपाचार्य युद्धस्थलमें महाधनुर्धर युधामन्युपर टूट पड़े और बलवान् कृतवमनि उत्तमौजापर आक्रमण किया ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
kṛpācāryo yuddhasthale mahādhanurdharo yudhāmanyupar tūṭa pade ca balavān kṛtavarmā uttamaujasi samākrāmat ||
bhīmasenaḥ kurūn sarvān putrāṃś ca tava māriṣa |
sahānīkān mahābāhur eka eva nyavārayad ārya ||
Sañjaya said: On the battlefield, Kripācārya, the renowned master of arms, rushed upon the great archer Yudhāmanyu, while the powerful Kṛtavarmā assailed Uttamaujā. O venerable King, mighty-armed Bhīmasena alone checked the advance of all the Kurus together with your sons, though they came supported by their divisions.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between collective force and individual resolve: even amid massed armies, a single steadfast warrior can uphold his side’s cause by restraining a larger advance. Ethically, it reflects the Mahabharata’s recurring theme that dharma in war is enacted through personal courage, discipline, and responsibility, not merely through numbers.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Kripacharya charges at Yudhamanyu and Kritavarma attacks Uttamaujas, while Bhima single-handedly blocks the forward movement of the Kaurava forces and Dhritarashtra’s sons, despite their being supported by full troop formations.