Shloka 343
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
एते च त्वरिता वीरा वसुषेणमताडयन् । सात्यकि, चेकितान, युयुत्सु, पाण्ड्य, धृष्टद्युग्न, शिखण्डी, द्रौपदीके पाँचों पुत्र, प्रभद्रकगण, नकुल-सहदेव, भीमसेन और शिशुपालपुत्र एवं करूष, मत्स्य, केकय, काशि और कोसल-देशोंके योद्धा--ये सभी वीर सैनिक तुरंत ही वसुषेण (कर्ण)-को घायल करने लगे
ete ca tvaritā vīrā vasuṣeṇam atāḍayan | sātyakiś cekitāno yuyutsuḥ pāṇḍyo dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ śikhaṇḍī draupadeyāḥ pañca putrāḥ prabhadrakagaṇā nakula-sahadevau bhīmasenaś ca śiśupālaputraḥ evaṃ ca karūṣa-matsya-kekaya-kāśi-kośala-deśānāṃ yodhāḥ—ete sarve vīrāḥ tūrṇam eva vasuṣeṇaṃ (karṇam) vyathayām āsuḥ
Sañjaya said: Then those heroes, moving swiftly, struck Vasusena (Karna). Sātyaki, Cekitāna, Yuyutsu, the Pāṇḍya king, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍin, the five sons of Draupadī, the Prabhadraka warriors, Nakula and Sahadeva, Bhīmasena, and the son of Śiśupāla—along with fighters from the lands of Karūṣa, Matsya, Kekaya, Kāśī, and Kośala—all these valiant men at once began to wound and harass Vasusena. The scene underscores the collective resolve of the Pāṇḍava alliance to check a formidable champion, even as the ethics of war are strained by the intensity and concentration of attack upon a single warrior.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, a coalition may concentrate force to restrain a dangerous adversary; it invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma—courage and duty—while also raising ethical tension about many warriors pressing a single champion in the heat of battle.
Sañjaya reports that multiple prominent Pāṇḍava-side heroes and allied regional contingents rapidly converge and strike Vasusena (Karna), collectively wounding and harrying him on the battlefield.