Shloka 58
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
तद् युद्धमासीत् सुमहद् घोररूपं परंतप । यादृशं न मया युद्ध दृष्टपूर्व विशाम्पते
tad yuddham āsīt sumahad ghorarūpaṃ paraṃtapa | yādṛśaṃ na mayā yuddha dṛṣṭapūrvaṃ viśāmpate ||
Sañjaya said: “That battle became exceedingly vast and terrifying in form, O scorcher of foes. Never before, O lord of the people, have I witnessed a war like this.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and human weight of war: even a seasoned witness like Sañjaya is overwhelmed by its unprecedented magnitude and terror, implicitly warning that conflict escalates beyond control and exacts a grave ethical cost.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has become immense and dreadful, emphasizing that he has never seen a battle of such a kind before—heightening the tension and severity of the events in the Karṇa Parva.