Shloka 4
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
सूतपुत्रो5पि समरे पञ्चालान् केकयांस्तथा । सृञ्जयांश्व महेष्वासानू निजघान सहस्रश:,सूतपुत्र कर्णने समरांगणमें सहस्रों पांचाल, केकय तथा सूंजय योद्धाओंको, जो महाधनुर्धर थे, मार डाला
sūtaputro 'pi samare pañcālān kekayāṁs tathā | sṛñjayāṁś ca maheṣvāsān nijaghāna sahasraśaḥ ||
സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—യുദ്ധത്തിൽ സൂതപുത്രനായ കർണ്ണനും ആയിരക്കണക്കിന് പാഞ്ചാലർ, കേകയർ, സൃഞ്ജയർ എന്നീ മഹാധനുർധരന്മാരെ വധിച്ചു.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral bleakness of war: martial excellence can erase social stigma ('sūtaputra') in reputation, yet the same excellence manifests as large-scale killing. It invites reflection on how dharma in war (kṣatriya action) can still culminate in tragic, dehumanizing outcomes.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, fighting on the Kaurava side, is cutting down major allied groups of the Pāṇḍavas—the Pāñcālas, Kekayas, and Sṛñjayas—described as formidable archers, and doing so in vast numbers.