Shloka 23
निमज्जतस्तानथ कर्णसागरे विपन्ननावो वणिजो यथार्णवे । उद्दप्रिरे नौभिरिवार्णवाद् रथै: सुकल्पितैद्रौपदिजा: स्वमातुलान्
sañjaya uvāca |
nimajjatas tān atha karṇasāgare vipannanāvo vaṇijo yathārṇave |
uddapriren naubhir ivārṇavād rathaiḥ sukalpitair draupadijāḥ svamātulān ||
Sañjaya berkata: Seperti para pedagang yang perahunya karam di samudra diselamatkan oleh perahu-perahu lain, demikian pula putra-putra Draupadī, dengan kereta yang lengkap dan siap tempur, mengangkat dan menyelamatkan para paman dari pihak ibu yang sedang tenggelam dalam samudra bernama Karṇa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid warfare, dharma expresses itself as protection of one’s own—especially vulnerable allies and kin. The verse frames courage not merely as striking the enemy, but as actively rescuing those in danger, using one’s resources and readiness for the sake of duty.
Sañjaya describes how Draupadī’s sons, in the thick of battle where Karṇa is portrayed as a vast, perilous ‘ocean,’ come to the aid of their maternal uncles (the Pāñcāla side). With well-prepared chariots, they extract them from imminent defeat, like boats saving shipwrecked merchants.