Shloka 27
कर्णो द्वात्रिंशता चैव वृषसेनश्व सप्तभि: । जयद्रथस्त्रिसप्तत्या कृपश्च दशभि: शरै:
karṇo dvātriṃśatā caiva vṛṣasenaś ca saptabhiḥ | jayadrathas tri-saptatyā kṛpaś ca daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Karṇa was struck with thirty-two arrows; Vṛṣasena with seven; Jayadratha with seventy-three; and Kṛpa with ten. Thus, in the fierce press of battle, the foremost warriors were marked by the measured, relentless force of missile-weapons—each wound a sign of the escalating contest of prowess and endurance amid the moral darkness of fratricidal war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the relentless, quantifiable reality of war: even the greatest names are reduced to bodies bearing wounds. Implicitly, it highlights the tragic cost of adharma-driven conflict—prowess and endurance continue, but the moral landscape is one of escalating harm.
Sañjaya reports battlefield events by listing how many arrows struck key Kaurava-side warriors—Karna, his son Vṛṣasena, Jayadratha, and Kṛpa—indicating a moment of intense exchange where prominent fighters are being heavily targeted and injured.