Shloka 74
वध्यमानं तु तत् सैन्यं द्रोणेन निशितैः: शरै: । व्यभ्रमत् तत्र तत्रैव क्षोभ्यमाण इवार्णव:
vadhyamānaṃ tu tat sainyaṃ droṇena niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | vyabhramat tatra tatraiva kṣobhyamāṇa ivārṇavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As that army was being cut down by Droṇa with his keen arrows, it reeled and scattered here and there—like an ocean heaving when churned and violently stirred.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming skill and force in war can dissolve collective order: when fear and shock spread, even a large army loses cohesion. Ethically, it points to the fragility of disciplined duty (dharma in action) under extreme violence, and the responsibility of leaders to maintain steadiness amid turmoil.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where Droṇa, firing sharp arrows, is slaughtering and pressuring the opposing host. The army, unable to hold formation, swirls and scatters in confusion, compared to an ocean roiled by agitation.