Shloka 24
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
कोट्यश्चाप्रतिवीराणां समाजग्मुस्ततस्तत: । उन दानवशिरोमणियोंके पास लाखों, करोड़ों और अरबों अप्रतिम वीर दैत्य इधर- उधरसे आ गये थे ।।
koṭyaś cāprativīrāṇāṃ samājagmus tataḥ tataḥ | māṃsāśinaḥ sudṛptāś ca surair vinikṛtāḥ purā | nibodha manasā cātra na te kāryā vicāraṇā ||
तब चारों दिशाओं से लाखों-करोड़ों अनुपम वीर एकत्र हो गए। वे मांसाहारी और उन्मत्त थे; पूर्वकाल में देवताओं ने उन्हें काट गिराया था। इसे स्थिर मन से सुनिए; यहाँ संदेह या दूसरा विचार करना उचित नहीं।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and violent appetite (māṃsāśinaḥ, sudṛptāḥ) characterize destructive forces, and it also shows a rhetorical move: Duryodhana urges unwavering acceptance of his narrative, discouraging critical reflection (na te kāryā vicāraṇā).
Duryodhana, addressing the king of Madra (Shalya), invokes an ancient Deva–Asura episode: countless formidable Danava/Daitya warriors gather, described as flesh-eating and proud, and he reminds that they were once destroyed by the gods, asking Shalya to listen without doubt.