Shloka 110
तब अस्त्रवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ द्रोणकुमारने वायव्यास्त्रका संधान करके वहाँ प्रकट हुए नील मेघको नष्ट कर दिया ।। स मार्गणगणैद्रौणिर्दिश: प्रच्छाद्य सर्वश: । शतं रथसहस्राणां जघान द्विपदां वर:,मनुष्योंमें श्रेष्ठ अश्वत्थामाने अपने बाणसमूहोंसे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको आच्छादित करके शत्रुपक्षके एक लाख रथियोंका संहार कर डाला
sa mārgaṇagaṇair drauṇir diśaḥ pracchādya sarvaśaḥ | śataṁ rathasahasrāṇāṁ jaghāna dvipadāṁ varaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Droṇa’s son, foremost among masters of weapons, invoked the Vāyavya missile and dispelled the dark cloud that had appeared there. After that, Aśvatthāman—best of men—covered all directions with volleys of arrows and slaughtered a hundred thousand chariot-warriors of the opposing host.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral peril of unrestrained martial power: mastery of astras can rapidly magnify destruction, so ethical restraint (dama) and discernment (viveka) are crucial even for a kṣatriya in war.
Aśvatthāman, described as Droṇa’s son, uses the Vāyavya weapon to disperse a dark cloud on the battlefield, then unleashes massive arrow volleys that blanket the directions and kill an enormous number of enemy chariot-warriors.