Shloka 24
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 20 — Yudhiṣṭhira–Duryodhana Encounter and Escalation of Arms
पाण्ड्सृूज्जयपञ्चालान् शरगोचरमागतान् । ममर्द तरसा कर्ण: सिंहो मृगगणानिव,जैसे सिंह अपनी दृष्टिमें पड़े हुए मृगोंको वेगपूर्वक मसल डालता है, उसी प्रकार कर्णने अपने बाणोंकी पहुँचके भीतर आये हुए पाण्डव, सृंजय तथा पांचाल योद्धाओंको बड़े वेगसे रौंद डाला
pāṇḍasṛñjayapañcālān śaragocaram āgatān | mamarda tarasā karṇaḥ siṃho mṛgagaṇān iva ||
Karṇa, con ímpetu irresistible, aplastó a los Pāṇḍavas, a los Sṛñjayas y a los Pāñcālas que habían entrado en el alcance de sus flechas, como un león que, al ver una manada de ciervos, los arrolla y los pisa con rapidez.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, sheer force and tactical advantage (being within an archer’s effective range) can overwhelm even renowned warriors. Ethically, it points to the grim reality that martial excellence, though aligned with kṣatriya duty, can rapidly turn into indiscriminate devastation, intensifying the Mahābhārata’s ongoing tension between dharma and the destructive momentum of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, surging forward with great speed, strikes down the Pāṇḍava-aligned forces—Pāṇḍavas, Sṛñjayas, and Pāñcālas—who have come within the reach of his arrows, comparing his onslaught to a lion overpowering a herd of deer.