Shloka 16
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 37: Sañjaya’s Account of Abhimanyu’s Precision Disruption of a Chariot Contingent
दुःशासनो द्वादशभि: कृप: शारद्वतस्त्रिभि: | द्रोणस्तु सप्तदशभि: शरैराशीविषोपमै:
duḥśāsano dvādaśabhiḥ kṛpaḥ śāradvatas tribhiḥ | droṇas tu saptadaśabhiḥ śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Duḥśāsana was struck with twelve arrows; Kṛpa Śāradvata with three; and Droṇa with seventeen—deadly in their force like venomous serpents.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war reduces even eminent figures to counts of injuries and displays of endurance; it implicitly warns of the dehumanizing escalation of violence, where weapons become 'serpent-like' in their lethal intent.
Sañjaya reports battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing how key Kaurava warriors—Duḥśāsana, Kṛpa, and Droṇa—are struck by a specific number of arrows, emphasizing the intensity and effectiveness of the opposing attack.