Mahabharata 7.139.3 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 139, Shloka 3
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
तानवेक्ष्य नरश्रेष्ठ विमना दु:खितस्तदा । नि:श्वसन् दीर्घमुष्णं च पुन: पाण्डवम भ्ययात्
tān avekṣya naraśreṣṭha vimanā duḥkhitas tadā | niḥśvasan dīrgham uṣṇaṃ ca punaḥ pāṇḍavam abhyayāt ||
അവരെ ആ നിലയിൽ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, നരശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, കർണന്റെ മനസ്സ് വിഷണ്ണമായി; അവൻ അത്യന്തം ദുഃഖിതനായി. ദീർഘവും ഉഷ്ണവുമായ നിശ്വാസങ്ങൾ വിട്ടുകൊണ്ട് അവൻ വീണ്ടും പാണ്ഡവൻ—ഭീമസേനൻ—നേർക്കു മുന്നേറി.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inner cost of violence: even a mighty warrior can be shaken by what he witnesses, yet he returns to action. It frames battlefield conduct as a tension between human sorrow and the kṣatriya imperative to continue one’s appointed duty.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa’s reaction after seeing the situation before him: Karṇa becomes dejected and sorrowful, exhales long, heated breaths, and then advances again toward the Pāṇḍava—identified in the received context as Bhīmasena—re-entering the confrontation.
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