Mahabharata 7.127.68 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 127, Shloka 68
दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः
Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva
अथ द्रोणं समारोहच्चेकितानो महाबल: । स द्रोणं दशभिर्विद्ध्वा प्रत्यविद्धयत् स्तनान्तरे
atha droṇaṃ samārohac cekitāno mahābalaḥ | sa droṇaṃ daśabhir viddhvā pratyaviddhayat stanāntare ||
Sañjaya said: Then the mighty Cekitāna charged straight at Droṇa. Piercing Droṇa with ten arrows, he struck back in return, wounding him in the region between the breasts. The scene underscores the relentless reciprocity of battlefield violence, where prowess and retaliation eclipse restraint, even against a revered teacher-warrior.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of immediate counteraction: martial duty (kṣatriya-dharma) often manifests as swift retaliation, showing how war normalizes reciprocal harm even when the opponent is a venerable figure like Droṇa.
Sañjaya reports that Cekitāna rushes at Droṇa, pierces him with ten arrows, and then delivers a further retaliatory strike that wounds Droṇa on the chest (stanāntara).
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