Shloka 149

Devanagari script

द्रोणपुत्रकी मार खाकर, अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरे हुए महाबली राक्षस उसे मार डालनेकी इच्छासे रोषपूर्वक दौड़े ।। तत्राद्भुतमिमं द्रौणिर्दर्शयामास विक्रमम्‌ । अशव्यं कर्तुमन्येन सर्वभूतेषु भारत,भारत! वहाँ अश्वत्थामाने यह ऐसा अद्भुत पराक्रम दिखाया, जिसे समस्त प्राणियोंमें और किसीके लिये कर दिखाना असम्भव था

Transliteration

tatrādbhūtam imaṃ drauṇir darśayāmāsa vikramam | aśakyaṃ kartum anyena sarvabhūteṣu bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those mighty rākṣasas, struck by Droṇa’s son, surged forward in furious wrath, longing to kill him. There Aśvatthāmā—Droṇa’s son—displayed, O Bhārata, a truly astonishing feat of prowess, one no other being among all creatures could have achieved. The scene shows how, in battle’s furnace, extraordinary power can rise from anger and the will to kill, raising an ethical tension between martial capability and the restraint demanded by dharma.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tatra', 'definition': 'there

• in that place/situation'}, {'term': 'adbhutam', 'definition': 'marvellous, wondrous, astonishing'}, {'term': 'imam', 'definition': 'this (accusative singular)'}, {'term': 'drauṇiḥ', 'definition': 'the son of Droṇa

• Aśvatthāmā'}, {'term': 'darśayāmāsa', 'definition': 'showed, displayed (intensive/perfect-like narrative form)'}, {'term': 'vikramam', 'definition': 'valour, heroic stride

• martial prowess'}, {'term': 'aśakyam', 'definition': 'impossible

• not feasible'}, {'term': 'kartum', 'definition': 'to do

• to accomplish (infinitive)'}, {'term': 'anyena', 'definition': 'by another

• by anyone else (instrumental)'}, {'term': 'sarvabhūteṣu', 'definition': 'among all beings/creatures (locative plural)'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'definition': 'O descendant of Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi, son of Droṇa)
• Droṇa
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral ambiguity of extraordinary power in war: unmatched prowess can arise from anger and the intent to kill, but dharma evaluates not only capability (vikrama) but also restraint, purpose, and the ethical limits of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, performs an astonishing martial exploit on the battlefield—so exceptional that no other being could replicate it—marking a dramatic escalation in the combat’s intensity.