Shloka 41
अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च
Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents
वध्यमान तु तत् सैन्यं पाण्डुपुत्रेण धन्विना
vadhyamānaṃ tu tat sainyaṃ pāṇḍuputreṇa dhanvinā
Sañjaya said: That army, however, was being cut down by the bow-bearing son of Pāṇḍu—an image of relentless martial prowess where the tide of battle turns through a single warrior’s disciplined force, raising the ethical tension between duty in war and the human cost of slaughter.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim dharmic tension of righteous warfare: a kṣatriya’s duty may demand decisive action, yet the narrative keeps the moral weight of mass killing visible—victory is achieved through discipline and skill, but it carries grave human cost.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the opposing force is being slaughtered by Arjuna, described succinctly as the bow-bearing son of Pāṇḍu, indicating Arjuna’s dominance at this moment in the Karṇa Parva battle sequence.