Shloka 41

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

पदातिहयसंघानां प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च | द्रोणेनैकेन नाराचैर्निर्भिन्नानि निशामुखे,उस प्रदोषकालमें अकेले द्रोणाचार्यने अपने नाराचोंद्वारा एक हजार हाथी, दस हजार रथ तथा लाखों-करोड़ों पैदल एवं घुड़सवार नष्ट कर दिये

Transliteration

padātihayasaṅghānāṁ prayutāny arbudāni ca | droṇenaikena nārācair nirbhinnāni niśāmukhe ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Beim Herannahen der Nacht zerschmetterte Droṇa ganz allein mit seinen Nārača-Pfeilen gewaltige Massen von Fußvolk und Reitern—Zehntausende, ja bis zu Krors—und streckte tausend Elefanten und zehntausend Wagen nieder. Der Vers hebt die furchtbare Machtasymmetrie auf dem Schlachtfeld hervor und das moralische Gewicht kriegerischer Kunst, wenn sie zu bloßem Schlachten wird statt zu maßvollem, vom Dharma geleitetem Kampf.

Word by Word

पदातिof foot-soldiers

हयof horses (cavalry)

संघानाम्of multitudes/hosts

प्रयुतानिten-thousands (units of 10,000)

अर्बुदानिhundred-millions/crores (arbuda-units)

चand

द्रोणेनby Droṇa

एकेनalone/by one (single-handedly)

नाराचैःwith iron arrows (nārācas)

निर्भिन्नानिpierced/cleft/destroyed

निशामुखेat the beginning of night (at dusk)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

nārāca (arrows)

padāti (infantry)

haya (cavalry)

elephants

chariots

niśāmukha (dusk/nightfall)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary martial power can overwhelm the norms of balanced combat; it invites reflection on dharma in war—prowess is admirable, yet mass destruction at dusk evokes the ethical burden and the tragic momentum of Kurukṣetra.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that at dusk Droṇa, fighting alone with nārāca arrows, devastates large formations of infantry and cavalry and destroys huge numbers of elephants and chariots, emphasizing the scale of carnage and Droṇa’s battlefield dominance.