Shloka 18
अताडयद् रणे शूरो जन्नुदेशे नरोत्तम: । उस समय शूरवीर नरश्रेष्ठ सात्यकिने रणभूमिमें बीस पैने बाणोंद्वारा कर्णके गलेकी हँसलीपर प्रहार किया ।।
sañjaya uvāca | atāḍayad raṇe śūro jannudeśe narottamaḥ |
रण में उस समय शूरवीर नरश्रेष्ठ (सात्यकि) ने (कर्ण को) जत्रु-प्रदेश में आघात किया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores a recurring Mahābhārata insight: martial greatness is not absolute—outcomes in war depend on coordination, timing, and collective effort. Ethically, it reflects kṣatriya-dharma as practiced on the battlefield, where concentrated force is used to check a formidable opponent, reminding readers that power must be met with disciplined alliance and strategy.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa is being heavily targeted. Sātyaki first strikes him at the neck/collarbone region with twenty sharp arrows, and then Śikhaṇḍin, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Draupadī’s sons, Sahadeva, and Nakula each add volleys of arrows, collectively wounding Karṇa amid the ongoing battle.