Shloka 30
तत्पञ्चाला: सोमकाश्चापि राजन् कर्णेनाजौ पीड्यमाना: शरौचै: । क्रोधाविष्टा विव्यधुस्तं समन्तात् तीक्षणैर्बाणै: सूतपुत्र॑ं समेता:
tatpañcālāḥ somakāś cāpi rājan karṇenājau pīḍyamānāḥ śaraughaiḥ | krodhāviṣṭā vivyadhus taṃ samantāt tīkṣṇair bāṇaiḥ sūtaputraṃ sametāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, the Pañcālas and the Somakas, hard-pressed in the battle by Karṇa’s volleys of arrows, were seized by anger. Gathering together, they struck the charioteer’s son from all sides with sharp shafts—meeting force with force in the fierce ethics of war, where wrath and retaliation drive men to collective assault.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) rapidly converts suffering into retaliatory violence, especially in war. It also reflects the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: when overwhelmed, warriors regroup and respond collectively, showing both courage and the moral danger of wrath-driven action.
Karṇa is showering the Pañcālas and Somakas with dense volleys of arrows, pressing them hard. Enraged, they assemble and attack Karṇa from all directions, piercing him with sharp arrows.