Shloka 9
कर्णश्न समरे राजन व्यद्रावयत पार्थिवान् | धृष्टद्युम्नशिखण्ड्यादीन् पञज्चालानां महारथान्,नरेश्वर! कर्णने भी रणभूमिमें धृष्टद्यम्म और शिखण्डी आदि पांचाल महारथी नरेशोंको दूर भगा दिया
sañjaya uvāca | karṇaḥ samare rājan vyadrāvayat pārthivān | dhṛṣṭadyumnaśikhaṇḍyādīn pāñcālānāṁ mahārathān nareśvara |
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, au milieu du combat, Karṇa mit les souverains en déroute. Il repoussa au loin les grands guerriers de char des Pāñcālas — Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍī et d’autres —, seigneur des hommes. Le vers souligne l’élan inexorable de la guerre : prouesse et stratégie peuvent disperser même des champions illustres, alourdissant encore le fardeau moral d’une violence qui s’exacerbe.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly fortune shifts in war: even famed mahārathas can be scattered when confronted by superior force and momentum. Ethically, it intensifies the tragedy of the Kurukṣetra conflict—heroic skill becomes an instrument that multiplies suffering, reminding the listener that victory in war often comes at grave human cost.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, fighting fiercely, routed the opposing kings and specifically drove back the Pāñcāla champions led by Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍī, pushing them away from the battlefield front.