Shloka 37
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
अपरे तत्र तत्रैव परिधावन्ति मानवा: । ज्ञातिभि: पतितै: शूरैर्याच्यमानास्तथोदकम्,“दूसरे बहुत-से सैनिक रणभूमिमें गिरे हुए अपने शूरवीर कुटुम्बीजनोंके पानी माँगनेपर वहीं इधर-उधर दौड़ रहे हैं
apare tatra tatraiva paridhāvanti mānavāḥ | jñātibhiḥ patitaiḥ śūrair yācyamānās tathodakam ||
Sañjaya said: Elsewhere on that very battlefield, other men ran about in different directions, as their fallen kinsmen—heroic warriors—begged them for water. The scene underscores the human cost of war: even amid duty and combat, compassion and familial obligation press urgently upon the living.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a dharma-framed war, the immediate claims of compassion and kinship remain powerful: the living are pulled between martial duty and the humane obligation to relieve suffering, here symbolized by giving water to the fallen.
Sañjaya describes soldiers running around the battlefield because their wounded or fallen relatives—brave fighters—are pleading for water, highlighting the chaos and pathos amid ongoing combat.