Shloka 40
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
ततः संशप्तकान् भूय: साश्वसूतरथद्विपान् | ध्वजपत्तिगणानुग्रैर्बाणैविव्याध पाण्डव:
tataḥ saṁśaptakān bhūyaḥ sāśvasūtarathadvipān | dhvajapattigaṇān ugrair bāṇair vivyādha pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : «Alors le Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) perça de nouveau les guerriers Saṁśaptaka—avec leurs chevaux, leurs cochers, leurs chars, leurs éléphants et les masses de fantassins portant des bannières—au moyen de ses flèches farouches.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfast performance of one’s ordained duty (kṣatriya-dharma) in a justly undertaken war: Arjuna acts with focused resolve against vowed enemy combatants, illustrating disciplined courage rather than personal cruelty.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna again attacks the Saṁśaptaka contingent, striking through their combined battle formation—horses, charioteers, chariots, elephants, foot-soldiers, and banner-bearers—using powerful volleys of arrows.