Shloka 3
कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief
नारायणा बलभद्रा: शूराश्ष शतशो<5परे | अनुरक्ताश्न वीरेण भीष्मेण युधि पातिता:,पाण्डवोंमें अनुराग रखनेवाले जो नारायण और बलभद्र नामवाले सैकड़ों शूरवीर थे, उन्हें भी वीरवर भीष्मने युद्धमें धराशायी कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
nārāyaṇā balabhadrāḥ śūrāś ca śataśo 'pare |
anuraktāḥ pāṇḍaveṣu vīreṇa bhīṣmeṇa yudhi pātitāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Beratus-ratus lagi pahlawan gagah bernama Nārāyaṇa dan Balabhadra—yang menaruh kasih setia kepada para Pāṇḍava—turut ditumbangkan di medan perang oleh Bhīṣma yang perkasa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic impartiality of war: even courageous warriors motivated by loyalty to a righteous cause can be destroyed when confronted by superior martial power and the inexorable demands of kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, fighting on the Kaurava side, has felled in battle hundreds of warriors named Nārāyaṇa and Balabhadra who were devoted to the Pāṇḍavas.