Shloka 203
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
दौणिं प्रति महाराज जलं जलधरा इव । महाराज! अभ्र॒त्थामाके ऐसा कहनेपर वे सभी वीर उसके ऊपर उसी प्रकार अस्त्र- शस्त्रोंकी वर्षा करने लगे, जैसे मेघ पर्वतपर पानी बरसाते हैं
drauṇiṃ prati mahārāja jalaṃ jaladharā iva | mahārāja abhratthāmāke evaṃ kahane pare te sarve vīrāḥ tasya upari tathā astrāśastrāṇāṃ varṣaṃ kartum ārabdhavantaḥ, yathā meghāḥ parvate jalaṃ varṣanti |
Sañjaya said: O King, when Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, spoke thus, all those warriors turned upon him and began to shower him with missiles and weapons, as rain-bearing clouds pour water upon a mountain.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly conflict intensifies in war: a single provocation can trigger collective retaliation. Ethically, it points to the danger of losing restraint (saṃyama) and discernment (viveka), where violence becomes self-perpetuating like an unstoppable downpour.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after Aśvatthāmā spoke in a certain way, the assembled warriors responded by attacking him, raining missiles and weapons upon him, compared to clouds pouring rain on a mountain.