Shloka 163
परिवव्र॒ुर्जिघांसन्तो राधेयं शरवृष्टिभि: । शिखण्डी, भीमसेन, ट्रुपदकुमार धृष्टद्युम्म, नकुल-सहदेव, द्रौपदीके पाँचों पुत्र और सात्यकिने अपने बाणोंकी वर्षद्वारा राधापुत्र कर्णको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे उसे सब ओरसे घेर लिया
parivavruḥ jighāṃsantaḥ rādheyaṃ śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ | śikhaṇḍī bhīmasenaḥ drupadakumāraḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ nakula-sahadevau draupadeyāḥ pañca putrāḥ sātyakiś ca svabāṇavarṣeṇa rādheyaṃ karṇaṃ jighāṃsavaḥ sarvataḥ paryavārayan |
राधेयं जिघांसन्तः शरवृष्टिभिः सर्वतः परिवव्रुः। शिखण्डी भीमसेनश्च द्रुपदपुत्रो धृष्टद्युम्नः, नकुलसहदेवौ, द्रौपदेयाः पञ्च, सात्यकिश्च—ते सर्वे राधापुत्रं कर्णं हन्तुमिच्छन्तः सर्वतोऽस्याभ्यवर्तन्त।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war: even a mighty warrior can be overwhelmed when many unite against him, and battlefield necessity often collides with ideals of fairness and individual honor. It invites reflection on how vengeance, strategy, and duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can harden into collective violence with grave ethical cost.
Sañjaya reports that a group of Pāṇḍava-aligned fighters—Śikhaṇḍī, Bhīma, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Draupadī’s five sons, and Sātyaki—encircle Karna from all sides and attack him with intense volleys of arrows, aiming to kill him.