Mahabharata 7.21.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 39
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
कवचोर्मिध्वजावर्ता मर्त्यकूलापहारिणीम् । गजवाजिमहाग्राहामसिमीनां दुरासदाम्
kavacormidhvajāvartā martyakūlāpahāriṇīm | gajavājimahāgrāhām asimīnām durāsadām ||
Sañjaya sprach: Drona — gewaltig an Tapferkeit, fest in der Wahrheit, gelehrt, stark und wahrhaft heldenhaft — ließ das Schlachtfeld wie einen schrecklichen Strom aus Blut dahinfließen, gleich den Wassern der Auflösung. Er erschreckte die Furchtsamen. Seine Wellen waren Panzer, seine Strudel Banner; er riss selbst die Ufer fort, die aus sterblichen Leibern bestanden. Elefanten und Pferde wühlten darin wie große Krokodile, und Schwerter waren seine Fische. Dieser Strom war überaus schwer zu durchqueren — ein Bild der verzehrenden Macht des Krieges, in dem Mut und Pflicht im Übermaß der Vernichtung geprüft werden.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a powerful metaphor—war as an unfordable river—to highlight the overwhelming, devouring nature of battle. It implicitly warns of war’s moral and physical cost, even while acknowledging kṣatriya valor and the grim inevitability of death for mortals.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa’s onslaught has made the battlefield flow like a terrifying river of blood. The scene is described through extended imagery: armor as waves, banners as whirlpools, elephants and horses as crocodiles, and swords as fish—conveying chaos and near-impossibility of escape.
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