अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
द्रौर्णि कृपं कर्णशल्यौ वृषसेनं सुयोधनम् । छादयामास तीव्रेण शरजालेन पाण्डव:,पाण्डुकुमार अर्जुनने अपने तीखे बाणसमूहसे अश्व॒त्थामा, कृपाचार्य, कर्ण, शल्य, वृषसेन तथा दुर्योधनको आच्छादित कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | drauṇiṃ kṛpaṃ karṇaśalyau vṛṣasenaṃ suyodhanam | chādayāmāsa tīvreṇa śarajālena pāṇḍavaḥ ||
द्रौणिं कृपं कर्णशल्यौ वृषसेनं सुयोधनम् । छादयामास तीव्रेण शरजालेन पाण्डवः ॥
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill and determination can decisively shift a battlefield moment, yet it also implicitly points to the ethical tension of the Kurukṣetra war: even brilliant feats occur within a tragic conflict among kin, where victory and valor do not erase the burden of adharma-like suffering produced by war.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna unleashes an intense barrage—described as a ‘net of arrows’—that overwhelms and ‘covers’ several prominent Kaurava-side warriors at once: Aśvatthāman, Kṛpa, Karṇa, Śalya, Vṛṣasena, and Duryodhana.