Shloka 41
दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः
Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva
तमपि प्रहसन् द्रोण: शरैर्निन्ये यमक्षयम् । महाव्यात्रो महारण्ये मृगशावं यथा बली,परंतु हँसते हुए द्रोणाचार्यने उसे भी अपने बाणोंद्वारा उसी प्रकार यमलोक पहुँचा दिया, जैसे बलवान् महाव्यात्र विशाल वनमें किसी हिरनके बच्चेको दबोच लेता है
tam api prahasan droṇaḥ śarair ninye yamākṣayam | mahāvyāghro mahāraṇye mṛgaśāvaṃ yathā balī ||
Sañjaya sprach: Lächelnd selbst im Kampf sandte Droṇa jenen Krieger mit seinen Pfeilen in Yamas unvergängliches Reich—wie ein mächtiger großer Tiger im weiten Wald ein junges Reh packt.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral strain of righteous war: even when action is framed as duty, overwhelming strength can make killing resemble predation. It invites reflection on restraint, proportionality, and the tragic cost of martial excellence when compassion is eclipsed by the necessities of battle.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, seemingly unshaken and even smiling, strikes down an opponent with arrows and sends him to Yama’s realm. The poet intensifies the scene through a simile: Droṇa is like a powerful tiger in a vast forest seizing a helpless fawn.