Shloka 3
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
पश्य कृष्ण महाबाहो द्रवन्तीं पाण्डवीं चमूम् । कर्ण पश्य च संग्रामे कालयन्तं महारथान्,“महाबाहु श्रीकृष्ण! देखिये, वह पाण्डव-सेना भागी जा रही है तथा कर्ण समरांगणमें बड़े-बड़े महारथियोंको कालके गालमें भेज रहा है
sañjaya uvāca | paśya kṛṣṇa mahābāho dravantīṃ pāṇḍavīṃ camūm | karṇa paśya ca saṃgrāme kālayantaṃ mahārathān |
Sañjaya said: “O Kṛṣṇa, mighty-armed one, look— the Pāṇḍava host is fleeing in disarray. And look there at Karṇa in the thick of battle, sending even great chariot-warriors to their death, as though delivering them into the jaws of Time.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring vision of war as governed not only by human prowess but also by Kāla (Time/Death): even the greatest warriors can be swept away. It invites reflection on the ethical gravity of battle—victory and valor are inseparable from mortality and consequence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍava forces are retreating, while Karṇa is dominating the fight, cutting down prominent mahārathas. The scene heightens Karṇa’s battlefield ascendancy and the crisis faced by the Pāṇḍava side in this phase of the war.