Shloka 120
षष्ट्या रथसहसैश्व प्रयाहि त्वं धनंजयम् । कर्णश्न वृषसेनश्व॒ कृपो नीलस्तथैव च,“मामा! तुम साठ हजार रथियोंकी सेना साथ लेकर अर्जुनपर आक्रमण करो। कर्ण, वृषसेन, कृपाचार्य, नील, उत्तर दिशाके सैनिक, कृतवर्मा, पुरुमित्र, सुतापन, दुःशासन, निकुम्भ, कुण्डभेदी, पराक्रमी, पुरंजय, दृढ़रथ, पताकी, हेमकम्पन, शल्य, आरुणि, इन्द्रसेन, संजय, विजय, जय, कमलाक्ष, परक्राथी, जयवर्मा और सुदर्शन--ये सभी महारथी वीर तथा साठ हजार पैदल सैनिक तुम्हारे साथ जायँगे
sañjaya uvāca | ṣaṣṭyā rathasahasraiś ca prayāhi tvaṃ dhanañjayam | karṇaś ca vṛṣasenaś ca kṛpo nīlas tathaiva ca ||
Sañjaya said: “March forth against Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), taking with you sixty thousand chariots. Let Karṇa and Vṛṣasena go as well, and Kṛpa, and Nīla too.” The command intensifies the war’s moral pressure: a vast force is ordered to overwhelm a single foremost warrior, revealing how fear, rivalry, and the hunger for victory can eclipse the ideal of fair combat even among those who know dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, the pursuit of victory can drive leaders to deploy overwhelming force against a single opponent, testing the boundaries of dharma (fairness, restraint, and honorable combat). It implicitly contrasts strategic necessity with ethical ideals.
Sañjaya reports an order to advance against Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) with a massive chariot force, accompanied by prominent warriors—Karṇa, his son Vṛṣasena, Kṛpa, and Nīla—signaling a coordinated attempt to check or crush Arjuna’s momentum on the battlefield.