Shloka 24
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय २७: सुशर्माह्वानम्, अर्जुनस्य प्रतिनिवर्तनम्, भगदत्तेन गजप्रहारः
उस रणक्षेत्रमें बहुत-से हाथी अर्जुनके बाणोंसे मथित होकर सवारोंसहित प्राणशून्य होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े। उस समय उनके झूल चिथड़े-चिथड़े होकर दूर जा पड़े थे और उनके आभूषणोंके भी टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये थे ।। सर्थ्िप्रासासिनखरा: समुद्गरपरश्वधा: । विच्छिन्ना बाहव: पेतुर्न॒णां भल््लै: किरीटिना,किरीटधारी अर्जुनके भललनामक बाणोंसे ऋष्टि, प्रास, खड़ग, नखर, मुद्गर और फरसोंसहित वीरोंकी भुजाएँ कटकर गिर गयीं
sañjaya uvāca | ṛṣṭiprāsāsinakharāḥ samudgaraparaśvadhāḥ | vicchinnā bāhavaḥ petur nṝṇāṃ bhallaiḥ kirīṭinā ||
Sañjaya said: In that battlefield many elephants, crushed by Arjuna’s arrows, fell lifeless to the earth together with their riders; their hangings were torn to rags and flung afar, and their ornaments shattered into pieces. And with Arjuna’s razor-edged bhalla arrows, the arms of warriors were severed and fell to the ground—arms still bearing their weapons: spears and javelins, swords, claw-like blades, maces, and axes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of righteous warfare as conceived in the epic: disciplined skill and steadfast duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can be executed with terrifying precision, yet the ethical weight of war is shown through vivid bodily devastation, urging reflection on the cost of conflict even when undertaken as duty.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, identified as Kirīṭin, is cutting down enemy warriors with bhalla arrows so sharp that their arms are severed and fall to the ground still holding various weapons—spears, javelins, swords, maces, and axes—depicting Arjuna’s dominance in the Drona Parva battle.