Shloka 803
प्रस्कन्दन्तो बलिना साधुमुक्ति: कर्णेन बाणैर्निहता: प्रसहय । पांचालोंके प्रधान-प्रधान सैनिक तथा दूसरे योद्धा पुनः कर्ण और अर्जुनके बीचमें आ पहुँचे; परंतु बलवान् कर्णने अच्छी तरह छोड़े हुए बाणोंद्वारा उन सबको हठपूर्वक मार गिराया
sañjaya uvāca | praskandanto balinā sādhumuktiḥ karṇena bāṇair nihatāḥ prasahya | pāñcālānke pradhāna-pradhāna-sainikāḥ tathā anye yoddhāḥ punaḥ karṇa-arjunayor madhye ājagmuḥ; parantu balavān karṇaḥ suṣṭhu muktaiḥ bāṇaiḥ tān sarvān haṭhapūrvakaṃ nipātayām āsa |
サञ्जयは言った。パーンチャーラの精鋭兵と他の戦士たちが再び突進し、カルナとアルジュナの間に割って入ったが、強大にして屈せぬカルナは、寸分違わぬ狙いと程よい放ち方の矢で、力ずくに彼らをことごとく討ち倒した。この場面は戦場の陰鬱な掟を示す。勇気と技がひとたび解き放たれれば、それは立ちはだかる者の価値いかんにかかわらず、容赦なく滅ぼす不可避の器となる。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: when war is joined, skill and resolve become decisive, and even eminent warriors may fall if they obstruct a principal duel. It also implicitly warns that excellence in arms, though admirable, carries grave moral weight because its ‘properly released’ power results in irreversible harm.
During the Karṇa–Arjuna confrontation, leading Pāñcāla troops and other fighters rush in again to intervene between them. Karṇa responds immediately, using force and expertly loosed arrows to strike them down, clearing the space around the central duel.