Shloka 33

Droṇa-pātana-paripṛcchā (Inquiry into the Fall of Droṇa) | द्रोणपातनपरिपृच्छा

Devanagari script

ततो निनादो भूतानामाकाशे समजायत । सैन्यानां च ततो राजन्नाचार्ये निहते युधि,नरेश्वर! युद्धस्थलमें आचार्य द्रोणके मारे जानेपर आकाशमें स्थित अदृश्य भूतोंका तथा कौरव-सैनिकोंका आर्तनाद सुनायी देने लगा

Transliteration

tato ninādo bhūtānām ākāśe samajāyata | sainyānāṃ ca tato rājann ācārye nihate yudhi ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Dann, o König, als der Lehrer (Droṇa) im Kampf gefallen war, erhob sich ein großes Wehklagen—sowohl von unsichtbaren Wesen, die im Himmel standen, als auch von den Heeren darunter.

Word by Word

ततःthen; thereafter

निनादःcry; loud sound

भूतानाम्of beings/spirits

आकाशेin the sky

समजायतarose; came to be

सैन्यानाम्of the armies

चand

ततःthen; thereafter

राजन्O king

आचार्येwhen/with the teacher (Droṇa)

निहतेslain; killed

युधिin battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan')

Droṇācārya

Bhūtas (unseen beings/spirits)

Kaurava army (implied by 'sainyānām')

Ākāśa (sky)

Battlefield (yudhi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that war’s outcomes are ethically charged: the death of a revered ācārya is not merely a tactical event but a moral rupture that provokes universal lament, suggesting that adharma-tainted means can turn triumph into collective grief.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Droṇa is killed on the battlefield, a loud outcry arises—heard as the lament of unseen beings in the sky and the cries of the troops—signaling the magnitude of the event and its ominous, world-shaking impact.