Shloka 32
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention
मदर्थमद्य संयत्ता दुर्योधनवशानुगा: । एतान् हत्वा शरै राजन् किरातान् युद्धदुर्मदान्
madartham adya saṁyattā duryodhana-vaśānugāḥ | etān hatvā śarai rājān kirātān yuddha-durmadān ||
सञ्जय उवाच— मदर्थमद्य संयत्ता दुर्योधनवशानुगा: । एतान् हत्वा शरै राजन् किरातान् युद्धदुर्मदान् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warriors can be driven into violence by another’s dominance (vaśa) and by personal motives (“for my sake”), raising an ethical tension: agency and responsibility in war are compromised when one fights under coercive influence and battle-pride.
Sañjaya reports to the king that certain fighters, aligned under Duryodhana’s command, have entered battle “for my sake,” and he describes their being slain by arrows—specifically identifying them as Kirāta warriors, fierce and emboldened by warfare.