Shloka 1
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
अफड--रू- द्वादशोड् ध्याय: दोनों सेनाओंका ला और भीमसेनके द्वारा क्षेम वध संजय उवाच ते सेने<न्योन्यमासाद्य प्रह्ृष्टाश्चनरद्धिपे । बृहत्यौ सम्प्रजहाते देवासुरसमप्र भे,बी आस ह्य अस्सी ं त्रयोदशो 5 ध्याय: दोनों सेनाओंका परस्पर घोर युद्ध तथा सात्यकिके द्वारा विन्द और अनुविन्दका वध संजय उवाच तत: कर्णो महेष्वास: पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम् । जघान समरे शूर: शरै: संनतपर्वभि: संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! तत्पश्चात् महाधनुर्धर शूरवीर कर्णने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा समरांगणमें पाण्डव-सेनाका संहार आरम्भ किया
sañjaya uvāca | tataḥ karṇo maheṣvāsaḥ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm | jaghāna samare śūraḥ śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
Sanjaya said: O King, thereafter Karna—mighty archer and heroic in battle—began to strike down the Pandavas’ army on the battlefield, showering it with arrows whose joints were bent (well-aimed and deadly). The verse frames the war’s momentum: prowess and martial skill surge forward, while the ethical tension of mass slaughter in a fratricidal conflict remains implicit beneath the narration.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not state a moral maxim directly; it highlights how quickly war escalates under a powerful warrior. Ethically, it invites reflection on the tragic cost of kshatriya valor when directed into a kin-war, where skill and duty can become instruments of widespread destruction.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Karna, a formidable archer, begins a fierce assault on the Pandava forces, striking them down with expertly made and effectively aimed arrows.