Shloka 32
Adhyāya 78 — Bhīṣma’s Advance, Duryodhana’s Rally, and Concurrent Duels (भीष्मस्याभ्युद्यमः, दुर्योधनस्योत्साहवचनम्, विविधयुद्धवर्णनम्)
स संगृहा[ स्वयं वाहान् भारद्वाज: प्रतापवान् | व्यधमत् पाण्डवीं सेनां तूलराशिमिवानल:
sa saṅgṛhya svayaṃ vāhān bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān | vyadhamat pāṇḍavīṃ senāṃ tūlarāśim ivānalaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da nahm der mächtige Bhāradvāja (Droṇa) die Zügel seiner Pferde selbst in die Hand und begann das Heer der Pāṇḍavas zu zermalmen – wie Feuer einen Haufen Baumwolle verzehrt und zu Asche macht.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how concentrated skill and resolve can produce overwhelming results—here, in the destructive context of war. It also invites reflection on dharma’s complexity: even a revered teacher like Droṇa becomes an instrument of mass violence when bound to allegiance and battlefield duty.
Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa personally takes control of his chariot team (grasping the horses’ reins himself) and proceeds to devastate the Pāṇḍava forces, compared to fire rapidly consuming a heap of cotton.