तमिषुं संहतं तेन भारद्वाज: प्रतापवान् | दृष्टवामन्यत देहस्य कालपर्यायमागतम्,द्रुपदपुत्रके द्वारा उस बाणको धनुषपर रखा गया देख प्रतापी द्रोणने भी यह मान लिया कि “अब इस शरीरका काल आ गया”
tam iṣuṁ saṁhataṁ tena bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān | dṛṣṭvā manyata dehasya kālaparyāyam āgatam |
Sañjaya said: Seeing that arrow, firmly set by him (the son of Drupada), the valiant Bhāradvāja (Droṇa) concluded that the destined turn of time for his body had arrived—recognizing in that act the approach of death amid the righteous yet terrible course of war.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring insight that in war—even when fought under dharma—time (kāla) governs embodied life. A great warrior like Droṇa recognizes mortality and the inevitability of destiny’s ‘turn’ (paryāya), underscoring humility before kāla and the grave ethical weight of battle.
Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa sees the son of Drupada (Dṛṣṭadyumna) set an arrow firmly on the bow. Interpreting this as a decisive, death-bringing moment, Droṇa concludes that the time appointed for his body has come—foreshadowing his imminent end in the conflict.