Shloka 11
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
तेषामापततां क्षिप्रं सुतानां ते जनाधिप । रथै: पञ्चाशता सार्थ पज्चाशदहनद् रथान्
teṣām āpatatāṁ kṣipraṁ sutānāṁ te janādhipa | rathaiḥ pañcāśatā sārtha pañcāśad ahanad rathān ||
Sañjaya said: O king, as those sons charged swiftly upon them, he, together with his company, with fifty chariots struck down fifty chariots. The report underscores the relentless arithmetic of battle—speed, coordination, and force reducing warriors to numbers, while the king is made to witness how quickly martial prowess can turn into mass destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, prowess and coordinated force can rapidly translate into large-scale destruction; it implicitly warns that power used in conflict reduces lives and achievements to mere counts, pressing rulers to reflect on responsibility for the carnage.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as the (enemy) sons rushed forward swiftly, a warrior force acting together used fifty chariots to destroy fifty opposing chariots—an image of swift, efficient battlefield slaughter.