Shloka 39
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
तुरगं रथिनं नागं पदातिमपि मारिष । विनिर्भिद्य क्षितिं जम्मुर्वल्मीकमिव पन्नगा:,आर्य! वे बाण घोड़े, रथी, हाथी और पैदल सैनिकोंको भी विदीर्ण करके उसी प्रकार धरतीमें समा जाते थे, जैसे सर्प बाँबीमें प्रवेश कर जाते हैं
turagaṁ rathinaṁ nāgaṁ padātim api māriṣa | vinirbhidya kṣitiṁ jagmur valmīkam iva pannagāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O revered one, the arrows, after piercing through horses, chariot-warriors, elephants, and even foot-soldiers, sank into the earth—just as serpents slip into their anthills.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark reflection on the nature of warfare: weapons move with unstoppable momentum, cutting through multiple ranks and then disappearing into the earth. Ethically, it highlights the dehumanizing, sweeping force of battle—where individual lives are overwhelmed by the mechanics of violence—inviting the listener to recognize war’s terrible cost even when fought under kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the arrows on the battlefield were so powerful and numerous that they pierced horses, chariot-fighters, elephants, and infantry, and then sank into the ground. He illustrates this with a simile: like snakes entering an anthill, the arrows vanish into the earth after striking their targets.