Shloka 22
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
ईषतुर्विरथं चैव कर्तुमन्योन्यमाहवे । ततो द्रौणिर्महास्त्राणि प्रादुश्चक्रे महारथ:
īṣatur virathaṃ caiva kartum anyonyam āhave | tato drauṇir mahāstrāṇi prāduścakre mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Au plus fort de la mêlée, chacun cherchait à réduire l’autre à l’état de guerrier sans char. Alors le fils de Droṇa, ce grand combattant de char, fit paraître de puissantes armes célestes, portant l’affrontement au-delà de la simple prouesse martiale, vers l’usage périlleux d’une force extraordinaire.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rivalry in war can quickly escalate: the aim shifts from tactical advantage (making the opponent chariotless) to unleashing extraordinary weapons. Implicitly, it raises the ethical tension in kṣatriya warfare—power must be governed by restraint, because greater force multiplies danger and suffering.
Two opposing warriors strive to disable one another by making the other ‘viratha’ (without a chariot). At that point Aśvatthāman (Drauṇi), described as a mahāratha, brings powerful astras into play, intensifying the battle.