Mahabharata 7.21.51 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 51
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
युधिष्ठिरो द्वादशभिद्रोणं विव्याध सायकै: । धष्टय्युम्नश्व॒ दशभिश्लेकितानस्त्रिभि: शरै:
sañjaya uvāca | yudhiṣṭhiro dvādaśabhir droṇaṃ vivyādha sāyakaiḥ | dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca daśabhiś cekitānas tribhiḥ śaraiḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Yudhiṣṭhira traf Droṇācārya mit zwölf Pfeilen. Dhṛṣṭadyumna durchbohrte ihn mit zehn, und Cekitāna mit drei. Die Szene betont den düsteren Sog des Krieges: Viele rechtschaffene und berühmte Kämpfer stürzen sich auf einen einzigen Waffenmeister, und selbst verehrte Lehrer werden zu Zielen, wenn die Forderungen der Schlacht und die Gefolgschaft die persönliche Ehrfurcht überragen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a dharmic framework, war forces painful collisions of obligations: respect for a teacher and the necessity to oppose him when he stands with the enemy. The verse highlights how allegiance and battlefield duty can compel actions that would otherwise be morally unthinkable in peacetime.
Sañjaya reports that multiple Pāṇḍava-side warriors concentrate their attack on Droṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira hits him with twelve arrows, Dhṛṣṭadyumna with ten, and Cekitāna with three, wounding the great commander amid the ongoing battle.
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