Shloka 25
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
महाराज! तदनन्तर महाबली कर्ण रूईके ढेरको वायुकी भाँति पाण्डव-सेनाओंको तहस-नहस करने लगा ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
mahārāja! tadanantaraṁ mahābalī karṇaḥ rathīka-śreṣṭha iva vāyuvat pāṇḍava-senāṁs tathāsa-nahasaṁ kartuṁ pravavṛte ||
dhṛṣṭadyumno mahārāja tava putreṇa pīḍitaḥ |
duḥśāsanaṁ tribhir bāṇaiḥ pratyavidhyat stanāntare ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, thereafter the mighty Karṇa, like a tempestuous wind, began to crush and scatter the Pāṇḍava forces. Then Dhṛṣṭadyumna, O great king, being hard-pressed by your son, struck Duḥśāsana with three arrows, piercing him deep in the chest.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: force is met with counter-force, and prowess brings immediate consequences. It also underscores the moral tension of war—valor and retaliation operate within a tragic cycle where skill and duty do not erase suffering.
After Karṇa begins devastating the Pāṇḍava ranks like a storm, Dhṛṣṭadyumna—under pressure from Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Duḥśāsana—responds by piercing Duḥśāsana in the chest with three arrows.