Shloka 71
युधिष्ठिरस्य कृष्णार्जुनादि-समाश्वासनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s reassurance and praise of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Bhīma, and Sātyaki
शिर: प्रच्यावयामास फलं पक्व॑ तरोरिव । इसी समय द्रोणने युद्धमें बड़ी उतावलीके साथ धृष्टद्युम्मके सारथिका सिर वृक्षके पके हुए फलके समान धड़से नीचे गिरा दिया || ७० ई ।। ततस्तु प्रद्गुता वाहा राज॑स्तस्य महात्मन:
śiraḥ pracyāvayāmāsa phalaṁ pakvaṁ taror iva |
Sañjaya said: With swift force he struck off the charioteer’s head, and it fell down like a ripe fruit dropping from a tree.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark simile—like a ripe fruit falling—to convey the inevitability and suddenness of death in war, prompting reflection on the moral cost of martial prowess and the vulnerability of even non-heroic participants such as charioteers.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior strikes off a charioteer’s head, which drops instantly like a ripe fruit from a tree, emphasizing the speed and decisiveness of the killing amid the Drona Parva fighting.