Shloka 37
कथं नु पापोदयमपेतध धर्म: सूतात्मज: समरेउद्य प्रसहा । पज्चालानां योधमुख्याननेकान् निजघ्निवांस्तव जिष्णो समक्षम्
kathaṃ nu pāpodayam apetadharmaḥ sūtātmajaḥ samare ’dyaprasahā | pāñcālānāṃ yodhamukhyān anekān nijaghnivāṃs tava jiṣṇoḥ samakṣam ||
Sañjaya said: “How is it that the son of a charioteer—one in whom sin has risen and who has fallen away from dharma—has today, in the battle, with reckless force, slain many foremost warriors of the Pāñcālas right before Jiṣṇu (Arjuna), your son’s opponent? The scene shows the grim moral inversion of war: prowess and fury appear to triumph even when righteousness is eclipsed.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: martial success can occur even when dharma is eclipsed. Sañjaya’s astonishment frames Karṇa’s violent effectiveness as a sign of adharma’s temporary ascendancy, reminding the listener that battlefield outcomes do not automatically validate moral rightness.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, fighting with force and disregard for dharma, has slain many leading Pāñcāla warriors, and that this has happened in Arjuna’s very presence—underscoring both Karṇa’s ferocity and the intensity of the ongoing battle.