Shloka 20
Nārada’s Account of the Kaliṅga Svayaṃvara: Duryodhana’s Seizure and Karṇa’s Escort
तदनन्तर प्रहार करनेवालोंमें श्रेष्ठ कर्णने जल्दी-जल्दी बाण मारकर उन सब राजाओंको व्याकुल कर दिया
te svayaṁ vāhayanto 'śvān pāhi pāhīti vādinaḥ | vyapeyus te raṇaṁ hitvā rājāno bhagnamānasāḥ ||
After that, Karṇa—the foremost of strikers—shot his arrows in swift succession and threw all those kings into disarray: some were left without bows, some stood frozen with bows raised, some still clutching arrows, some bearing chariot-spears, and some with maces in hand. Whatever posture they were in, in that very posture he confounded them; then he slew their charioteers and defeated that multitude of rulers. Their courage broken, those kings abandoned the field; driving their own horses and crying again and again, “Save us, save us!”, they fled in panic—showing how fear and the loss of resolve can melt royal pride before overwhelming force.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how inner resolve (mānasika dhairya) sustains status and duty: when morale collapses, even kings abandon the kṣatriya role and seek mere survival, showing that fear can overturn social identity and obligation.
Nārada describes a rout: the kings, demoralized, leave the battlefield and flee, driving their own horses and repeatedly crying for protection—signaling disorder, loss of command structure, and total defeat.