Shloka 63
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
(भारद्वाजस्तु सेनानयं धृष्टद्युम्नं महारथम् । तमेव राजन्नायान्तमतिक्रम्य परान् रिपून् ।। महता शरजालेन किरन्तं शत्रुवाहिनीम् । अवारयन्महाराज सामात्यं सपदानुगम् ।। महाराज! भरद्वाजनन्दन द्रोणाचार्यने देखा कि पाण्डव-सेनापति महारथी धूृष्टद्युम्न दूसरे शत्रुओंको लाँधकर अपने मन्त्रियों तथा सेवकोंसहित मेरी ही ओर आ रहा है और शत्रुसेनापर बाणोंका भारी जाल-सा बिखेर रहा है, तब उन्होंने स्वयं आगे बढ़कर उसे रोका। अथान्ये पार्थिवा राजन् बहुत्वान्नातिकीर्तिता: । समसज्जन्त सर्वे ते यथायोगं यथाबलम् ।। राजन! इसी प्रकार अन्य सब राजा भी अपने बल और साधनोंके अनुसार शत्रुओंके साथ भिड़ गये। उनकी संख्या बहुत होनेके कारण सबके नामोंका उल्लेख नहीं किया गया है। हयैहयांस्तथा जग्मु: कुञ्जरैरेव कुञ्जरा: । पदातय: पदातीभी रथैरेव महारथा: ।। अकुर्वन्नार्यकर्माणि तत्रैव पुरुषर्षभा: । कुलवीर्यानुरूपाणि संसृष्टा श्न॒ परस्परम् ।।) घोड़ोंसे घोड़े, हाथियोंसे हाथी, पैदलोंसे पैदल तथा बड़े-बड़े रथोंसे महान् रथ जूझ रहे थे। उस युद्धमें पुरुष-शिरोमणि वीर अपने कुल और पराक्रमके अनुरूप एक-दूसरेसे भिड़कर आर्यजनोचित कर्म कर रहे थे। एवं द्वन्द्शशतान्यासन् रथवारणवाजिनाम् । पदातीनां च भद्रं ते तव तेषां च संकुले,महाराज! आपका कल्याण हो। इस प्रकार आपके और पाण्डवोंके उस भयंकर संग्राममें रथ, हाथी, घोड़ों और पैदल सैनिकोंके सैकड़ों द्वद्दध आपसमें युद्ध कर रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
bhāradvājas tu senānyaṁ dhṛṣṭadyumnaṁ mahāratham |
tam eva rājann āyāntam atikramya parān ripūn ||
mahatā śarajālena kirantaṁ śatruvāhinīm |
avārayat mahārāja sāmātyaṁ sapadānugam ||
athānye pārthivā rājan bahutvān nātikīrtitāḥ |
samasajjanta sarve te yathāyogaṁ yathābalam ||
hayair hayāṁs tathā jagmuḥ kuñjarair eva kuñjarāḥ |
padātayaḥ padātībhi rathair eva mahārathāḥ ||
akurvann āryakarmāṇi tatraiva puruṣarṣabhāḥ |
kulavīryānurūpāṇi saṁsṛṣṭāḥ parasparam ||
evaṁ dvandvaśatāny āsan rathavāraṇavājinām |
padātīnāṁ ca bhadraṁ te tava teṣāṁ ca saṅkule ||
Sañjaya said: O King, Bhāradvāja’s son (Droṇa) saw the great chariot-warrior Dhṛṣṭadyumna—having overleapt other foes—coming straight toward him with ministers and attendants, showering the enemy host with a vast net of arrows. Then Droṇa himself advanced and checked him. Likewise, O King, many other rulers—too numerous to name—engaged their opponents, each according to his means and strength. Horses met horses, elephants met elephants, foot-soldiers met foot-soldiers, and great chariot-fighters met great chariot-fighters. There, the best of men, locked together, performed deeds deemed fitting for the noble—acts in keeping with their lineage and valor. Thus, in that dense and dreadful clash between your forces and the Pāṇḍavas’, hundreds of paired combats arose among chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry; may it be well with you.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames battle as governed by a kṣatriya code: warriors engage counterparts of comparable arm and station (horse with horse, elephant with elephant, chariot with chariot), and ‘ārya-karmāṇi’ are deeds aligned with lineage, capacity, and accepted martial norms—an ethical lens that seeks order and propriety even amid violence.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna, leading the Pāṇḍava side, pushes past other fighters and advances toward Droṇa while raining arrows. Droṇa steps forward and blocks him. Around them, countless kings and troops enter paired combats across all divisions—chariots, elephants, cavalry, and infantry—creating a dense battlefield of hundreds of simultaneous duels.