Shloka 303
कर्णभीमसेनयुद्धम् | Karṇa–Bhīmasena Engagement
Chapter 111
घटोत्कचेन वीरेण हत: शालकटड्कट: । वीर घटोत्कचके द्वारा मारे गये शालकटंकटाके पुत्र अलम्बुषके सारे अंग फट गये थे। उसकी हडियाँ चूर-चूर हो गयी थीं और वह बड़ा भयंकर दिखायी देता था
sañjaya uvāca | ghaṭotkacena vīreṇa hataḥ śālakaṭaṅkaṭaḥ |
Sañjaya said: The fierce warrior Śālakaṭaṅkaṭa was slain by the hero Ghaṭotkaca. In the brutal momentum of this night-battle, the fall of such a fighter underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: valor and prowess can decide outcomes on the field, yet every victory is inseparable from grievous bodily ruin and the widening circle of grief that war inevitably brings.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when framed as heroic duty, war’s ‘success’ is inseparable from destruction; the epic repeatedly invites reflection on how dharma becomes strained when victory is purchased through escalating violence and suffering.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield event: Ghaṭotkaca, fighting as a formidable warrior, slays the combatant named Śālakaṭaṅkaṭa, marking another lethal turn in the Drona Parva’s intense engagements.