Shloka 1
संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! जब कौरव-सैनिक बड़े वेगसे भागने लगे
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! yadā kaurava-sainikā mahā-vegena palāyituṃ pravṛttās tadā yathā vāyur megha-saṅghātaṃ chinna-bhinnaṃ karoti tathā sūta-putraḥ karṇaḥ śveta-aśva-yuktena rathena abhyākrāmya svaiḥ vipulaiḥ śaraiḥ pāñcāla-rāja-kumārāṇāṃ saṃhāram ārabdhavān.
サञ्जयは言った。「王よ。カウラヴァの兵が激しく逃げ散り始めたその時、風が雲の群れを引き裂き四散させるように、御者の子カルナは白馬に牽かれた戦車で突撃し、その強大な矢をもってパーンチャーラの王子たちの討伐を開始した。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly fear can collapse an army’s cohesion and how a single warrior’s aggressive resolve can amplify that collapse into catastrophe. Ethically, it points to the grim reality that in war, prowess often overrides compassion, and the destruction of royal heirs deepens the adharma-like consequences of unchecked violence.
As Kaurava troops begin to flee at high speed, Karna surges forward in a white-horsed chariot and starts killing the princes of Panchala with powerful arrows. The scene is framed with a simile: Karna’s onslaught disperses the enemy like wind tearing apart a bank of clouds.