Shloka 55
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
शतेन च शतं हत्वा पठ्चालानां महारथ:,नाशयामास पज्चालान भूयिष्ठं ये व्यवस्थिता: । महारथी द्रोणकुमारने पहले सौ बाणोंसे सौ पांचाल योद्धाओंका वध करके फिर तीन पैने बाणोंद्वारा उनके तीन महारथियोंकों भी मार गिराया और धूृष्टद्युम्न तथा अर्जुनके देखते-देखते वहाँ जो बहुसंख्यक पांचाल योद्धा खड़े थे, उन सबको नष्ट कर दिया
saśatena ca śataṃ hatvā pāñcālānāṃ mahārathaḥ | nāśayāmāsa pāñcālān bhūyiṣṭhaṃ ye vyavasthitāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having slain a hundred Pāñcāla warriors with a hundred well-aimed arrows, that great chariot-warrior went on to destroy the Pāñcālas who stood there in the greatest numbers. The passage lays bare the grim momentum of battle: prowess is displayed as efficiency in killing, and the moral air darkens as valor and destruction become indistinguishable on the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, extraordinary skill can translate into rapid mass killing; it invites reflection on the moral cost of battlefield ‘success’ and the way violence escalates once combatants are arrayed and engaged.
Sañjaya reports that an elite warrior (mahāratha) kills a hundred Pāñcāla fighters with a hundred arrows and then continues to rout and destroy the densely gathered Pāñcāla ranks who are stationed on the field.