Shloka 19
दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः
Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva
द्रोणस्तु बहुभिवविद्धों बृहत्क्षत्रेण मारिष । असृजद् विशिखांस्तीक्ष्णान् कैकेयस्य रथं प्रति,माननीय नरेश! जब बृहत्क्षत्रने बहुसंख्यक बाणोंसे द्रोणाचार्यको क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया, तब उन्होंने केकयनरेशके रथपर तीखे सायकोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी
droṇas tu bahubhir viddho bṛhatkṣatreṇa māriṣa | asṛjad viśikhāṁs tīkṣṇān kaikeyasya rathaṁ prati ||
Sañjaya said: O venerable one, when Droṇa had been pierced and wounded by many arrows shot by Bṛhatkṣatra, he retaliated by releasing a fierce shower of sharp shafts against the chariot of the king of the Kaikeyas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reciprocity embedded in kṣatriya warfare: a warrior who is wounded does not withdraw in resentment but responds with disciplined counteraction. Ethically, it reflects the battlefield code where valor, endurance, and immediate retaliation are treated as duties, even though the larger epic questions the human cost of such cycles.
Bṛhatkṣatra strikes Droṇa with many arrows, leaving him wounded. Droṇa answers by launching a concentrated volley of sharp arrows aimed at the Kaikeya king’s chariot, escalating the duel-like exchange amid the wider battle.