Shloka 2
दुर्योधनस्य कर्णप्रार्थना — कृपकर्णसंवादः
Duryodhana’s Appeal to Karna — The Kripa–Karna Dialogue
राधेयो भीममानर्च्छद् युद्धाय भरतर्षभ | यथा नागो वने नागं मत्तो मत्तमभिद्रवन्,संजय कहते हैं--भरतश्रेष्ठ महाराज! इस प्रकार रोमांचकारी संग्राम छिड़ जानेपर जब सारी सेनाएँ सब ओरसे पीड़ित और व्याकुल हो गयीं तब राधानन्दन कर्ण युद्धके लिये पुनः भीमसेनके सामने आया। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे वनमें एक मतवाला हाथी दूसरे मदोन्मत्त हाथीपर आक्रमण करता है
sañjaya uvāca | rādheyo bhīmam ānarcchad yuddhāya bharatarṣabha | yathā nāgo vane nāgaṃ matto mattam abhidravan ||
Sanjaya said: O bull among the Bharatas, Radheya (Karna) again rushed toward Bhima for battle. As the clash grew fierce and the armies on all sides became harried and distressed, he advanced like a musth elephant in the forest charging another musth elephant—an image of overwhelming force meeting overwhelming force in the heat of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kshatriya ideal of meeting force with force in a declared battle: Karna deliberately re-enters combat despite the surrounding chaos. Ethically, it frames war as a domain where courage and resolve are tested, while also hinting at the destructive momentum of violence through the image of two musth elephants colliding.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Karna (Radheya) advances again to fight Bhima. The encounter is portrayed as intensely charged—like one musth elephant charging another—signaling a renewed, high-stakes confrontation amid a battlefield where armies are already shaken and suffering.