Shloka 7
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
अस्त्रयुद्धे ततो राजन् वर्तमाने महा भये । अपश्याम रणे द्रौणिं व्यात्तानममिवान्तकम्
astrayuddhe tato rājan vartamāne mahābhaye | apaśyāma raṇe drauṇiṃ vyāttānanam ivāntakam ||
Wahai Raja, ketika pertempuran senjata yang amat mengerikan itu berlangsung, kami melihat di medan laga putra Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, dengan mulut ternganga laksana Yama, Sang Maut, yang datang menjemput nyawa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare—especially missile-combat—can assume an overwhelming, death-like inevitability, personified here in Aśvatthāmā appearing as Antaka (Yama). It implicitly warns that when fear and destructive power dominate, ethical restraint (dharma in war) is easily eclipsed, and combatants become instruments of death rather than guardians of righteousness.
As the terrifying exchange of astras begins, Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that they beheld Aśvatthāmā on the battlefield, gaping like Yama himself—signaling his fierce, lethal presence and the escalating dread of the encounter.