Shloka 26
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 20 — Yudhiṣṭhira–Duryodhana Encounter and Escalation of Arms
तेषु व्यायच्छमानेषु कुरुपाज्चालपाण्डुषु । प्रियानसून् रणे त्यक्त्वा योधा जघ्नु: परस्परम्
teṣu vyāyacchamāneṣu kurupāñcālapāṇḍuṣu | priyān asūn raṇe tyaktvā yodhā jaghnuḥ parasparam ||
Sañjaya said: As the Kurus, the Pāñcālas, and the Pāṇḍavas pressed hard against one another, the warriors—casting aside even their dear lives on the battlefield—struck down one another. The scene underscores how, once battle is fully joined, attachment to life and loved ones is overridden by the harsh compulsion of kṣatriya-duty and the momentum of collective violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tragedy of war: once combatants commit to battle, even the most cherished value—life itself—is treated as expendable. It implicitly contrasts personal attachment with the perceived demands of kṣatriya-duty and the overpowering momentum of collective conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battle intensifying: Kurus, Pāñcālas, and Pāṇḍavas are locked in fierce engagement, and the warriors, disregarding their own lives, kill one another in close, mutual combat.