Shloka 141
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
ते तु सर्वे प्रयत्नेन भारद्वाजं जिघांसव: । सैन्धवे निहते राजन्नयुध्यन्त महारथा:,नरेश्वर! सिंधुराजके मारे जानेपर समस्त सोमक महारथी द्रोणाचार्यके वधकी इच्छासे प्रयत्नपूर्वक युद्ध करने लगे
te tu sarve prayatnena bhāradvājaṃ jighāṃsavaḥ | saindhave nihate rājann ayudhyanta mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: After the king of Sindhu had been slain, O King, all those great chariot-warriors—intent on killing Bhāradvāja (Droṇa)—fought with concentrated effort. The battle now turns from mere contest to a grim, single-pointed pursuit of vengeance and strategic necessity, as Droṇa becomes the focal target of the Somaka forces.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, collective resolve can narrow into a single objective—here, the killing of Droṇa—raising ethical tension between strategic necessity and the moral weight of intent (jighāṃsā) directed at a revered teacher-warrior.
After Jayadratha (Saindhava), the king of Sindhu, has been killed, the Somaka side’s great warriors intensify their fighting with the specific aim of slaying Droṇācārya (Bhāradvāja), making him the central target of the battle.