Shloka 8
द्रोणेन केकय-चेदि-वीरवधः
Droṇa’s engagements with the Kekayas and Cedis
वैणवाश्नायसाश्षोग्रा ग्रसन्तौ विविधानरीन् | रुधिरं पतगै: सार्ध प्राणिनां पपुराहवे,अर्जुनके बाणोंपर उनका नाम अंकित था। उनपर पानी चढ़ाया गया था। वे कालाग्निके समान भयंकर, ताँतमें बँधे हुए, सुन्दर पंखवाले, मोटे तथा दूरतक जानेवाले थे। उनमेंसे कुछ तो बाँसके बने हुए थे और कुछ लोहेके। वे सभी भयंकर थे और नाना प्रकारके शत्रुओंका संहार करते हुए पक्षियोंके साथ उड़कर युद्धस्थलमें प्राणियोंका रक्त पीते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
vaiṇavāśnāyasāś ca ugrā grasantau vividhān arīn |
rudhiraṃ patagaiḥ sārdhaṃ prāṇināṃ papur āhave ||
Sañjaya said: “Those arrows—some of bamboo and some of iron—were fierce and dreadful. As they sped forth, they seemed to ‘devour’ enemies of many kinds; and on the battlefield, as if in company with birds, they drank the blood of living beings. The scene underscores the war’s dehumanizing violence, where weapons are portrayed as predatory forces consuming life.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it highlights the horrific, consuming nature of battle through predatory imagery. Ethically, it invites reflection on how warfare turns life into prey and reduces persons to targets, emphasizing the tragic cost of kṣatriya conflict.
Sañjaya narrates the battlefield scene: fierce arrows—some bamboo, some iron—fly forth and slaughter enemies. Their action is poetically likened to birds drinking blood, intensifying the sense of carnage and relentless destruction.