Shloka 22
ततः पुनस्तु राधेयो हयानस्य रथेषुभि: । ऋक्षवर्णाञ्जघानाशु तथोभौ पार्ष्णिसारथी,तत्पश्चात् राधापुत्र कर्णने पुन: सोनेकी पीठवाला दूसरा दुर्जय धनुष हाथमें लेकर रथपर रखे हुए बाणोंद्वारा भीमसेनके रीकछके समान रंगवाले काले घोड़ों और दोनों पार्श्वरक्षकोंको शीघ्र ही मार डाला
tataḥ punas tu rādhyo hayān asya ratheṣubhiḥ | ṛkṣavarṇān jaghānāśu tathobhau pārṣṇisārathī ||
Sañjaya berkata: Lalu Rādheya (Karṇa) kembali, dengan anak panah dari keretanya, segera merobohkan kuda-kuda Bhīmasena yang sewarna beruang; dan ia pun cepat membunuh kedua pengawal samping serta sais kereta.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the Mahābhārata’s war ethic, combat often targets not only warriors but also the opponent’s capacity to fight—horses, charioteer, and attendants—showing the grim logic of victory where skill and strategy can eclipse compassion, even while remaining within the era’s accepted battlefield practice.
Sañjaya reports that Karna again attacks and swiftly kills the bear-coloured horses of the opposing chariot and also slays key chariot personnel (charioteer and side-guards), effectively disabling the enemy’s chariot in the midst of the Drona Parva battle.