Shloka 48
तं शब्द तुमुलं श्र॒ुत्वा द्रोणो यन्तारमब्रवीत् । एष सूत रणे क्रुद्ध: सात्वतानां महारथ:,उस भयंकर शब्दको सुनकर द्रोणाचार्यने अपने सारथिसे कहा--'सूत! यह सात्वतकुलका महारथी वीर सात्यकि रफक्षेत्रमें क्ुद्ध होकर कौरव-सेनाको बारंबार विदीर्ण करता हुआ कालके समान विचर रहा है। सारथे! जहाँ यह भयानक शब्द हो रहा है, वहीं मेरे रथको ले चलो
taṁ śabdaṁ tumulaṁ śrutvā droṇo yantāram abravīt | eṣa sūta raṇe kruddhaḥ sātvātānāṁ mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Hearing that tumultuous roar, Droṇa addressed his charioteer: “O charioteer, this great chariot-warrior of the Sātvatas, enraged in battle, is moving about like Death itself, repeatedly rending the Kaurava host. Drive my chariot to the very place from which that dreadful sound is rising.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical pressure of war: leaders respond to signs of escalating violence and must choose actions that shape collective fate. Droṇa’s command shows how battlefield duty (kṣātra-dharma) can harden into a pursuit of counter-violence when confronted by a formidable opponent.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa hears a terrifying uproar on the battlefield and recognizes it as the work of a powerful Sātvata warrior. Droṇa orders his charioteer to drive toward the source of the sound, intending to confront and check that warrior’s destructive advance.