Shloka 7
Droṇa’s Renewed Advance toward Yudhiṣṭhira; Fall of Satyajit and Allied Recoil (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरप्रेप्सा—सत्यजितः पतनम्)
शका यवनकाम्बोजास्तथा हंसपथाश्न ये । ग्रीवायां शूरसेनाश्व दरदा मद्रकेकया:
śakā yavanakāmbojās tathā haṃsapathāś ca ye | grīvāyāṃ śūrasenāś ca daradā madrakekayāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “The Śakas, the Yavanas, and the Kāmbojas, and also those known as the Haṃsapathas; likewise the Śūrasenas, the Daradas, the Madras, and the Kekayas—these peoples too were present there.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vast scale of the Kurukṣetra war: many peoples from distant regions are drawn into a single conflict. Ethically, it points to how political ambition and adharma can entangle entire societies, multiplying suffering beyond the principal rivals.
Sañjaya is enumerating the various peoples present in the forces being described in this section of Droṇa Parva. The verse functions as part of a catalogue of contingents, emphasizing the breadth of participation in the battle.