Shloka 44
अन्तकप्रतिमश्नोग्रो रात्रियुद्धेडदहत् प्रजा: । 'तत्पश्चात् उग्रमूर्ति महारथी द्रोणाचार्य पाँच दिनोंतक अभेद्यव्यूहका निर्माण, शत्रुसेनाका विध्वंस, महारथियोंका विनाश तथा समरांगणमें जयद्रथकी रक्षा करनेके अनन्तर रात्रियुद्धमें यमराजके समान प्रजाको दग्ध करने लगे ।।
antaka-pratimaśnugro rātri-yuddhe dadāha prajāḥ | tat-paścāt ugra-mūrtiḥ mahā-rathī droṇācāryaḥ pañca-dināni abhēdya-vyūhasya nirmāṇaṃ śatru-senāyā vidhvaṃsaṃ mahā-rathīnām vināśaṃ tathā samara-aṅgaṇe jayadrathasya rakṣaṇaṃ kṛtvā anantaram rātri-yuddhe yama-rāja-samaḥ prajāṃ dagdhum ārabdhavān || dagdhvā yodhān śarair avīro bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān |
Sañjaya sprach: «In der Nachtschlacht verbrannte jener grimmige Krieger — Antaka (dem Tod) an Gestalt gleich — die Scharen. Darauf begann Droṇācārya, der große Wagenkämpfer von furchterregender Erscheinung, nachdem er fünf Tage lang eine undurchdringliche Schlachtordnung errichtet, das feindliche Heer zerschmettert, große Helden vernichtet und Jayadratha auf dem Feld geschützt hatte, im Nachtkampf die Menge zu versengen wie Yama, der Herr des Todes. Nachdem er die Kämpfer mit seinen Pfeilen verbrannt hatte, der tapfere und mächtige Sohn des Bharadvāja…»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: even renowned teachers and great warriors, once immersed in total war, can become instruments of mass destruction—likened to Death itself. It invites reflection on how strategy, duty, and vengeance can eclipse compassion, and how war dehumanizes the ‘multitude’ into something that can be ‘burned’ or ‘scorched’.
Sanjaya describes the ferocity of the fighting, emphasizing a night-battle in which a great warrior ‘burns’ the host like Death. The passage recalls Droṇa’s prior feats—creating an unbreakable formation for five days, crushing the enemy, slaying great champions, and protecting Jayadratha—before stating that he continues to devastate warriors with volleys of arrows.