Shloka 7
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
अस्त्रयुद्धे ततो राजन् वर्तमाने महा भये । अपश्याम रणे द्रौणिं व्यात्तानममिवान्तकम्
astrayuddhe tato rājan vartamāne mahābhaye | apaśyāma raṇe drauṇiṃ vyāttānanam ivāntakam ||
Disse Sañjaya: Ó Rei, quando aquela terribilíssima batalha de projéteis estava em curso, vimos no campo Droṇi, Aśvatthāmā, o filho de Droṇa, de boca escancarada, como Yama—o próprio Fim—vindo ceifar vidas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare—especially missile-combat—can assume an overwhelming, death-like inevitability, personified here in Aśvatthāmā appearing as Antaka (Yama). It implicitly warns that when fear and destructive power dominate, ethical restraint (dharma in war) is easily eclipsed, and combatants become instruments of death rather than guardians of righteousness.
As the terrifying exchange of astras begins, Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that they beheld Aśvatthāmā on the battlefield, gaping like Yama himself—signaling his fierce, lethal presence and the escalating dread of the encounter.