Shloka 38
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 109 — Karṇa–Bhīma Yuddha and Durmukha’s Fall (कर्णभीमयुद्धम्; दुर्मुखवधः)
भज्यमानं बल॑ राजन् सात्वतेन महात्मना
bhajyamānaṃ balaṃ rājan sātvaten mahātmanā
सञ्जय उवाच—राजन्, महात्मना सात्वतेन तेन बलं भज्यमानं बभूव; रणभूमौ तस्य पराक्रमोऽप्रतिहतो बलेन व्यूहान् भिन्दन् सर्वेषां द्रष्टॄणां धैर्यधर्मौ परीक्षते स्म।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, collective power (bala) can collapse before concentrated courage and skill; it also frames the ethical weight of battle through Sañjaya’s witness—victory and destruction arise from human agency, and leaders must face the consequences of the conflict they sustain.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the opposing force is being broken on the battlefield by a great Sātvata warrior (commonly understood as Sātyaki), indicating a decisive surge that disrupts the enemy’s formations.