Shloka 12
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
ततो विधम्याधिरथे: शरजालानि पाण्डव: | विव्याध कर्ण विंशत्या पुनरन्यै: शिलाशितै:,पाण्डुकुमार भीमने अधिरथपुत्रके शरसमूहोंका निवारण करके शिलापर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए बीस अन्य बाणोंद्वारा कर्णको घायल कर दिया
tato vidharmyādhiratheḥ śarajālāni pāṇḍavaḥ | vivyādha karṇaṃ viṃśatyā punar anyaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—ततो विधम्याधिरथेः शरजालानि पाण्डवः। विव्याध कर्णं विंशत्या पुनरन्यैः शिलाशितैः॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the severe reciprocity of battlefield ethics: a warrior must meet aggression with disciplined skill and resolve. It reflects kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form—steadfastness and competence amid violence—while also hinting at the tragic inevitability of escalating harm once war is joined.
Bhīma (a Pāṇḍava) breaks through Karṇa’s dense volleys of arrows and then wounds Karṇa by striking him with twenty additional arrows sharpened on a whetstone, as Sañjaya reports the ongoing combat.