Shloka 145
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
संशप्तकांश्व॒ कौन्तेय: कुरूंश्वापि वृकोदर: | वसुषेणश्न पञज्चालान् क्षणेन व्यधमद् रणे
saṃśaptakāṃś ca kaunteyaḥ kurūṃś cāpi vṛkodaraḥ | vasuṣeṇaś ca pāñcālān kṣaṇena vyadhamad raṇe ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Sa sandaling iyon sa larangan ng digmaan, si Arjuna, anak ni Kuntī, ay mabilis na dumurog sa mga Saṃśaptaka; si Bhīma, ang “may tiyan ng lobo,” ay nagbagsak sa mga Kuru; at si Karṇa, anak ni Vasu, ay lumipol sa mga mandirigmang Pāñcāla sa isang kisapmata.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly war escalates into mass destruction when great warriors engage. It implicitly presses the ethical reflection central to the Mahābhārata: even when fighting under kṣatriya-dharma, the speed and scale of killing intensify responsibility and the tragic cost of victory.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that three leading fighters each devastate a specific opposing contingent: Arjuna routs the Saṃśaptakas, Bhīma crushes Kuru troops, and Karṇa destroys the Pāñcāla soldiers—each feat occurring with startling rapidity on the battlefield.