Shloka 23
निमज्जतस्तानथ कर्णसागरे विपन्ननावो वणिजो यथार्णवे । उद्दप्रिरे नौभिरिवार्णवाद् रथै: सुकल्पितैद्रौपदिजा: स्वमातुलान्,जैसे समुद्रमें जिनकी नाव डूब गयी हो, उन डूबते हुए व्यापारियोंको दूसरी नौकाओंद्वारा लोग बचा लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार द्रौपदीके पुत्रोंने कर्णरूपी सागरमें डूबनेवाले अपने उन मामाओंको रण-सामग्रीसे सजे-सजाये रथोंद्वारा बचाया
sañjaya uvāca |
nimajjatas tān atha karṇasāgare vipannanāvo vaṇijo yathārṇave |
uddapriren naubhir ivārṇavād rathaiḥ sukalpitair draupadijāḥ svamātulān ||
Sañjaya said: Just as merchants whose boat has foundered in the ocean are rescued by others in boats, so too did Draupadī’s sons, with well-equipped and well-prepared chariots, lift up and save their maternal uncles who were sinking in the sea-like Karṇa—bringing them out of peril amid the battle’s chaos.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid warfare, dharma expresses itself as protection of one’s own—especially vulnerable allies and kin. The verse frames courage not merely as striking the enemy, but as actively rescuing those in danger, using one’s resources and readiness for the sake of duty.
Sañjaya describes how Draupadī’s sons, in the thick of battle where Karṇa is portrayed as a vast, perilous ‘ocean,’ come to the aid of their maternal uncles (the Pāñcāla side). With well-prepared chariots, they extract them from imminent defeat, like boats saving shipwrecked merchants.