Shloka 2436
वधाय तेषां शूराणां पञ्चालानाममर्षित: । तब शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले महारथी द्रोणाचार्यने पांचालोंके उन बाणसमूहोंको नष्ट करके शूरवीर पांचालोंके वधके लिये अमर्षयुक्त होकर ब्रह्मास्त्र प्रकट किया
sañjaya uvāca |
vaḍhāya teṣāṃ śūrāṇāṃ pañcālānām amarṣitaḥ |
tataḥ śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-deno mahāratho droṇācāryaḥ pañcālānāṃ tān bāṇa-samūhān vināśya śūra-vīra-pañcālānāṃ vadha-kṛte amarṣa-yuktaḥ brahmāstram prādurabhāvat |
Sañjaya said: Burning with indignation and intent on the destruction of those heroic Pāñcālas, the great chariot-warrior Droṇācārya—who brought torment to his enemies—first annihilated their volleys of arrows. Then, driven by wrath and resolved to slay the valiant Pāñcāla fighters, he manifested the Brahmāstra. The episode underscores how, in the heat of war, anger can push a warrior toward the most extreme and perilous weapons, raising grave ethical stakes for all combatants.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral danger of anger in warfare: indignation can drive even a disciplined teacher-warrior to unleash catastrophic weapons. It implicitly warns that the use of supreme astras escalates harm beyond ordinary combat and therefore carries heavy ethical responsibility.
Droṇa, provoked and intent on killing the Pāñcāla heroes, destroys their incoming arrow volleys and then brings forth the Brahmāstra, signaling a severe escalation in the battle.