Shloka 20
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
कर्णका ज्येष्ठ पुत्र महारथी वृषसेन पृष्ठरक्षक था। वह स्वयं ही कर्णके पृष्ठभागकी रक्षा कर रहा था ।।
karṇasya jyeṣṭhaḥ putro mahārathī vṛṣasenaḥ pṛṣṭharakṣakaḥ; sa svayam eva karṇasya pṛṣṭhabhāgasya rakṣāṃ karoti sma. dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ sātyakiś ca draupadeyā vṛkodaraḥ janamejayaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca prabhadrakāḥ pramukhāḥ prāvīrāś ca; te sarve rādheyaṃ karṇaṃ hantum icchantaḥ kavacinaḥ samabhyadravan.
Sañjaya berkata: Putera sulung Karṇa, maharathi Vṛṣasena, menjadi pengawal belakangnya, melindungi bahagian belakang Karṇa dengan tangannya sendiri. Kemudian, dengan tekad untuk membunuh Rādheya Karṇa, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Sātyaki, lima putera Draupadī, Vṛkodara (Bhīma), Janamejaya, Śikhaṇḍin, serta para wira Prabhadraka yang terkemuka—berzirah dan berhasrat melancarkan serangan—menerpa ke atasnya serentak.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights two intertwined kṣatriya values in war: steadfast loyalty (Vṛṣasena guarding his father’s vulnerable rear) and strategic necessity (the opposing side concentrating force to neutralize a decisive warrior). It implicitly raises the ethical tension between individual heroism and collective tactics in a dharma-framed conflict.
Vṛṣasena, Karṇa’s eldest son, is positioned as Karṇa’s rear-guard and actively protects him. At the same time, multiple Pāṇḍava-aligned champions—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Sātyaki, the Draupadeyas, Bhīma, Janamejaya, Śikhaṇḍin, and Prabhadraka heroes—armour up and charge together, intent on killing Karṇa.