Shloka 74
द्रोणवध-प्रश्नः
Droṇa’s Fall: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry
आटरूषकवर्णाभा हया: पाण्ड्यानुयायिनाम् | अवहन् रथमुख्यानामयुतानि चतुर्दश,वासक-पुष्पोंके समान रंगवाले घोड़े राजा पाण्ड्यके पीछे चलनेवाले एक लाख चालीस हजार श्रेष्ठ रथोंका भार वहन कर रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca | āṭarūṣaka-varṇābhā hayāḥ pāṇḍyānuyāyinām | avahan ratha-mukhyānām ayutāni caturdaśa ||
Sanjaya said: Horses, gleaming with the hue of āṭarūṣaka blossoms, followed in the train of the Pāṇḍya king and bore the burden of fourteen ayutas of foremost chariots. The description underscores the vast scale and disciplined organization of the forces moving into battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it highlights the immense scale of the war-host and the disciplined logistics that sustain it, implicitly reminding the listener that great power and splendor are still harnessed to the grim work of battle and its moral consequences.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍya king’s contingent is advancing with horses of a blossom-like hue, and these horses are drawing an enormous number of excellent chariots—fourteen ayutas—emphasizing the magnitude of the forces on the field.