Shloka 33
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
तत: शरसहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च । ससूजे द्रौणिरायस्त: संस्तभ्य च रणे<र्जुनम्
tataḥ śara-sahasrāṇi prayutāny arbudāni ca | sasūje drauṇir āyastaḥ saṃstabhya ca raṇe 'rjunam ||
قال سانجيا: ثم إن دراوني (أشڤتّھاما)، بعد أن سدّد، كبح أرجونا في قلب المعركة وشرع يمطره بالسهام مطرًا—بالآلاف، وبعشرات الآلاف، بل وبالكرورات—عاصفةً من المقذوفات قصد بها أن يشلّ خصمه ويقهره.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mastery of force and tactics can be used to overwhelm an opponent; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the destructive excess that battle can unleash when victory becomes the sole aim.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi), son of Droṇa, takes aim, checks Arjuna’s movement on the battlefield, and unleashes a massive barrage of arrows—described in hyperbolic numbers to convey the intensity of the assault.