Shloka 111
ते तु द्रौणिविनिर्मुक्ता: शरा हेमविभूषिता: । अजस्रमन्वकीर्यन्त घोरा भीमरथं प्रति,अश्वत्थामाके छोड़े हुए सुवर्णभूषित भयंकर बाण भीमसेनके रथपर लगातार गिरने लगे
te tu drauṇivinirmuktāḥ śarā hemavibhūṣitāḥ | ajasram anvakīryanta ghorā bhīmarathaṃ prati ||
Sañjaya said: Those dreadful arrows, released by Droṇi (Aśvatthāmā) and adorned with gold, kept raining down without pause upon Bhīma’s chariot. The scene underscores the relentless escalation of violence in war—where martial skill and splendor (golden ornamentation) serve the grim purpose of destruction rather than any righteous end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare can become relentlessly self-perpetuating: even refined skill and outward splendor (gold-adorned arrows) are harnessed for harm. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the tragic cost of unchecked escalation.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā (called Droṇi) is continuously releasing terrifying, gold-ornamented arrows, which fall in an unbroken shower upon Bhīma’s chariot—depicting an intense phase of direct combat.