Shloka 22
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
ईषतुर्विरथं चैव कर्तुमन्योन्यमाहवे । ततो द्रौणिर्महास्त्राणि प्रादुश्चक्रे महारथ:
īṣatur virathaṃ caiva kartum anyonyam āhave | tato drauṇir mahāstrāṇi prāduścakre mahārathaḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「戦いのただ中で、互いに相手を“無車”の身に落とそうとした。そのときドローナの子——大車戦士——は強大な天界の武器を顕し、勝負を単なる武芸の競い合いから、異常なる力を用いる危険な段階へと押し上げた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rivalry in war can quickly escalate: the aim shifts from tactical advantage (making the opponent chariotless) to unleashing extraordinary weapons. Implicitly, it raises the ethical tension in kṣatriya warfare—power must be governed by restraint, because greater force multiplies danger and suffering.
Two opposing warriors strive to disable one another by making the other ‘viratha’ (without a chariot). At that point Aśvatthāman (Drauṇi), described as a mahāratha, brings powerful astras into play, intensifying the battle.