Shloka 583
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
तथा कर्णमनुप्राप्प न जिजीवुर्महारथा: । जैसे मृग सिंहके मुखके समीप पहुँचकर जीवित नहीं बचते, उसी प्रकार पांचाल महारथी कर्णके निकट पहुँचकर जीवित नहीं रह पाते थे
tathā karṇam anuprāpya na jijīvur mahārathāḥ | yathā mṛgāḥ siṁhasya mukhasya samīpaṁ prāpya na jīvanti, tathā pāñcālā mahārathāḥ karṇasya nikaṭaṁ prāpya na jijīvur iti |
Sañjaya said: Having come up against Karṇa, those great chariot-warriors did not survive. Just as deer, drawing near the mouth of a lion, do not escape with life, so the Pāñcāla champions, approaching Karṇa at close quarters, could not remain alive. The verse underscores the terrifying asymmetry of power on the battlefield and the grim moral cost of valor when it meets overwhelming force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: courage and status (mahāratha) do not guarantee survival when confronted with overwhelming martial power. It also invites reflection on the ethical tragedy of kṣatriya warfare, where valor can become futile in the face of destructive prowess.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāñcāla great warriors who approached Karṇa in battle were killed; the simile compares them to deer that cannot survive when they come too close to a lion’s mouth.