Shloka 443
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
योद्धव्यमिति युध्यन्ते राजानो जयगृद्धिनः । राजन! बाणोंकी चोटसे व्याकुल हुए अपने और पराये योद्धा पहचानमें नहीं आते थे। विजयकी अभिलाषा रखनेवाले राजालोग--'युद्ध करना अपना कर्तव्य है” यह समझकर जूझ रहे थे
yoddhavyam iti yudhyante rājāno jayagṛddhinaḥ | rājann bāṇānāṃ coṭena vyākulāḥ svaparā yodhāḥ pratyabhijñāne na bhavanti sma | vijayābhilāṣiṇo rājānaḥ—“yuddhaṃ kartavyam” iti matvā jujūvuḥ |
สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ข้าแต่พระราชา บรรดากษัตริย์ผู้กระหายชัยชนะต่อสู้ต่อไป โดยเชื่อว่า “การรบคือหน้าที่ของเรา” ครั้นถูกศรซัดจนสับสน ก็แยกไม่ออกว่าเป็นพวกตนหรือพวกศัตรู; ถึงกระนั้นเหล่ากษัตริย์ผู้ใฝ่ชัยก็ยังคงตะลุมบอนในสนามรบ
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension between dharma and desire: rulers justify continued fighting as a duty (“yoddhavyam… kartavyam”), yet their motivation is also explicit craving for victory (jayagṛddhi). It suggests how ‘duty’ can be invoked to sustain violence even when the battlefield has become morally and practically chaotic.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has grown so intense that, under the shock of arrow-strikes, fighters on both sides cannot be recognized as friend or foe. Despite this confusion, the kings keep battling, driven by the aim of victory and the belief that fighting is their rightful obligation.