Shloka 21
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
शरै: पूर्णायतोत्सूष्टैरन्योन्यमभिजषध्नतु: । अन्योन्यस्य वधे चैव चक्रतुर्यत्नमुत्तमम्,वे कानतक खींचकर छोड़े हुए बाणोंसे परस्पर चोट पहुँचाने और एक-दूसरेके वधके लिये भारी यत्न करने लगे
śaraiḥ pūrṇāyatotsṛṣṭair anyonyam abhijaghnatuḥ | anyonyasya vadhe caiva cakratur yatnam uttamam ||
サンジャヤは言った。「弓を限りなく引き絞り、力の限り放たれた矢によって、二人は互いを幾度も射抜き合い、それぞれが相手の死を招かんと最大の力を尽くした——武人の法（クシャトリヤのダルマ）と滅ぼさんとする衝動とのあいだの倫理的緊張を露わにする、苛烈な応酬であった。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the extremity of martial resolve in battle: when warriors commit to mutual destruction, the scene underscores the ethical strain of war—where duty and prowess operate alongside the tragic momentum of violence.
Sañjaya describes two opposing warriors engaged in a fierce exchange, drawing their bows to the full and releasing arrows to wound one another, each striving with maximum effort to kill the other.