Shloka 443
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
योद्धव्यमिति युध्यन्ते राजानो जयगृद्धिनः । राजन! बाणोंकी चोटसे व्याकुल हुए अपने और पराये योद्धा पहचानमें नहीं आते थे। विजयकी अभिलाषा रखनेवाले राजालोग--'युद्ध करना अपना कर्तव्य है” यह समझकर जूझ रहे थे
yoddhavyam iti yudhyante rājāno jayagṛddhinaḥ | rājann bāṇānāṃ coṭena vyākulāḥ svaparā yodhāḥ pratyabhijñāne na bhavanti sma | vijayābhilāṣiṇo rājānaḥ—“yuddhaṃ kartavyam” iti matvā jujūvuḥ |
サンジャヤは言った。「勝利に飢えた諸王は、『戦うことこそ我らの務め』と信じて戦い続けた。王よ、矢の打撃に打たれ揺さぶられ、戦士たちは味方か敵かさえ見分けがつかなくなった。それでも勝利を求める支配者たちは、戦そのものを己に定められた義務とみなし、なおも戦場で組み合い続けた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension between dharma and desire: rulers justify continued fighting as a duty (“yoddhavyam… kartavyam”), yet their motivation is also explicit craving for victory (jayagṛddhi). It suggests how ‘duty’ can be invoked to sustain violence even when the battlefield has become morally and practically chaotic.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has grown so intense that, under the shock of arrow-strikes, fighters on both sides cannot be recognized as friend or foe. Despite this confusion, the kings keep battling, driven by the aim of victory and the belief that fighting is their rightful obligation.