Shloka 6
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय ११२) — कर्णभीमयोर्युद्धम्, दुर्योधनस्य रक्षणादेशः
Droṇa-parva 112: Karṇa–Bhīma Engagement and Duryodhana’s Protective Order
ते वर्म भित्त्वा सुदृढं द्विषत्पिशितभोजना: । अभ्ययुर्थधरणीं राजन् श्वसन्त इव पन्नगा:,राजन! द्रोणाचार्यके बाण शत्रुओंके मांस खानेवाले थे। वे सात्यकिके सुदृढ़ कवचको छिन्न-भिन्न करके फुफकारते हुए सर्पोंके समान धरतीमें समा गये
te varma bhittvā sudṛḍhaṁ dviṣat-piśita-bhojanāḥ | abhyayur dharaṇīṁ rājan śvasanta iva pannagāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having shattered that very strong armour, those enemy-devouring warriors—like flesh-eating beasts—rushed down into the earth, O King, hissing like serpents.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark similes—flesh-eaters and hissing serpents—to show how war strips away restraint: once a defender’s protection is broken, aggression advances with predatory inevitability. Ethically, it highlights the dehumanizing nature of battle and the peril of letting hatred and bloodlust govern action.
Sañjaya describes warriors who have smashed a strong armour and then surge forward, compared to serpents hissing as they move along the ground. It is a vivid battlefield report emphasizing the attackers’ ferocity and the collapse of the opponent’s protection.