Shloka 46
अमोघशक्तिव्यंसनप्रश्नः — Why Karṇa’s Śakti Was Not Used on Arjuna
(ततो यमौ द्रुपदसुता: ससैनिका युधिष्ठिरद्रुपदविराटसात्वता: । घटोत्कचो जयविजयोौ द्रुमो वृकः ससृञ्जयास्तव तनयानवारयन् ।।) यह देख नकुल, सहदेव, सैनिकोंसहित द्रुपदपुत्र, युधिष्ठिर, ट्रपद, विराट, सात्यकि, घटोत्कच, जय, विजय, द्रुम, वृक तथा सूंजय योधाओंने आपके पुत्रोंको आगे बढ़नेसे रोका। ततो5भवत् तिमिरघनैरिवावृते महा भये भयदमतीव दारुणम् | निशामुखे वृकबलगृध्रमोदनं महात्मनां नूपवर युद्धमद्भुतम्,नृपश्रेष्ठ॒ फिर तो घने अन्धकारसे आवृत महाभयंकर प्रदोषकालमें उन महामनस्वी वीरोंका अत्यन्त दारुण, भयदायक तथा भेड़ियों, गीधों और कौवोंको आनन्दित करनेवाला अद्भुत युद्ध होने लगा
tato yamau drupadasutāḥ sasainikā yudhiṣṭhiradrupadavirāṭasātvatāḥ | ghaṭotkaco jayavijayau drumo vṛkaḥ sasṛñjayās tava tanayān avārayan ||
Sañjaya said: Then the twin sons of Mādrī (Nakula and Sahadeva), the sons of Drupada with their troops, and also Yudhiṣṭhira, Drupada, Virāṭa, Sātyaki, Ghaṭotkaca, Jaya, Vijaya, Druma, Vṛka, and the Śṛñjaya warriors checked your sons and prevented them from advancing. Thus, as twilight thickened like a mass of darkness, a dreadful and fear-bringing battle arose—so fierce that it delighted wolves, vultures, and crows—an astonishing clash among great-souled heroes, where courage and duty were tested amid the ruin that war inevitably invites.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical tension of kṣatriya-dharma: warriors act with resolve to restrain aggression and protect their side, yet the narrative does not romanticize violence—twilight battle is portrayed as dreadful, attracting scavengers, reminding that even ‘duty-bound’ war carries grim consequences.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a coalition of Pāṇḍava-aligned heroes—Nakula, Sahadeva, Yudhiṣṭhira, Drupada, Virāṭa, Sātyaki, Ghaṭotkaca and others, along with the Śṛñjayas—halted the advance of the Kaurava princes, after which a terrifying battle erupted at dusk amid deepening darkness.