Mahabharata 7.21.20 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 20
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत संशप्तकवधपर्वमें संकुलयुद्धाविषयक बीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
sañjaya uvāca | saṃchidyamāneṣu kārmukeṣu punaḥ punaḥ | pāñcālyaḥ paramāstrajñaḥ śoṇāśvaṃ samayodhayat ||
Sañjaya sprach: Immer wieder, selbst als seine Bögen in Stücke geschlagen wurden, kämpfte der Pāñcāla-Krieger—ein höchster Kenner der Waffenlehre—unverdrossen weiter gegen Śoṇāśva (Droṇācārya, den Reiter des roten Pferdes). Die Szene hebt unbeugsame Standhaftigkeit inmitten der brutalen Mechanik des Krieges hervor: Können und Beharrlichkeit werden nicht nur durch die Macht des Gegners geprüft, sondern durch den wiederholten Verlust der eigenen Mittel und die Weigerung, nachzugeben.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness under repeated setbacks: even when one’s instruments and advantages are repeatedly destroyed, disciplined skill (āstrajñatā) and resolve can sustain one’s duty in a harsh moral landscape like war.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāñcāla hero (identified in the Gītā Press note as Satyajit) keeps fighting Droṇa—called Śoṇāśva—despite his bows being cut again and again, indicating an intense, close contest where weapons are repeatedly broken.
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