Shloka 343
कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat
न्यवधीच्च ततो योधान् वासवि: परवीरहा । तदनन्तर शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले इन्द्रपुत्र अर्जुनने अपने बाणोंकी वर्षसे उनकी भारी अस्त्र-वृष्टिका निवारण करके उन योद्धाओंका संहार आरम्भ कर दिया
nyavadhīc ca tato yodhān vāsaviḥ paravīrahā | tadanantaraṁ śatruvīrāṇāṁ saṁhāra-karaṇevale indraputra arjunena svabāṇa-vṛṣṭyā teṣāṁ gurvīṁ astravṛṣṭikāṁ nivārya tān yodhānāṁ saṁhāra ārabdhaḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: Lalu Arjuna—putra Indra, pembantai para jawara musuh—menumbangkan para prajurit itu. Sesudah menahan hujan senjata mereka yang dahsyat dengan hujan anak panahnya sendiri, ia pun memulai pembantaian atas para petarung itu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness and tactical mastery in battle—meeting force with disciplined counter-force—while the epic context frames such victory as morally heavy, reminding readers that even ‘necessary’ violence in a dharmic war carries grave human cost.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna, described with Indra-related epithets, wards off the enemy’s intense missile-shower by a rain of his own arrows and then begins cutting down the opposing warriors.