Shloka 54
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
व्यद्राववदमेयात्मा शतशो5थ सहस्रशः । अनन्त आत्मबलसे सम्पन्न अश्वत्थामाने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले सैकड़ों और सहस्रों बाणोंद्वारा उन समस्त पांचालोंको दूर भगा दिया ।। ५३ $ ।। ततस्तु विव्यथे सेना पाण्डवी भरतर्षभ
sañjaya uvāca |
vyadrāvayad ameyātmā śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ |
ananta-ātmabala-sampannaḥ pāñcālān sarvaśas tadā ||
tatas tu vivyathe senā pāṇḍavī bharatarṣabha ||
Sañjaya said: Endowed with immeasurable spirit and inexhaustible strength, Aśvatthāmā drove the Pāñcālas into flight, scattering them by hundreds and by thousands. Thereupon, O bull among the Bharatas, the Pāṇḍava host was shaken and plunged into distress.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force and resolve can rapidly shift the morale of an army; ethically, it points to the cascading human cost of war—panic, collapse of courage, and suffering—showing that victory is not only physical but also psychological.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, empowered by immense inner strength, drives the Pāñcālas into flight in great numbers; as a result, the Pāṇḍava forces become shaken and distressed.