Shloka 30
एवं रुक्मरथ: शूरो हत्वा शतसहस्रश: । पाण्डवानां रणे योधान् पार्षतेन निपातित:,इस प्रकार सुवर्णमय रथवाले शूरवीर द्रोणाचार्य रणक्षेत्रमें पाण्डवपक्षके लाखों योद्धाओंका संहार करके अन्तमें धृष्टद्युम्नके द्वारा मार गिराये गये
evaṁ rukmarathaḥ śūro hatvā śatasahasraśaḥ | pāṇḍavānāṁ raṇe yodhān pārṣatena nipātitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Thus the heroic Droṇa, whose chariot was adorned with gold, having slain the Pāṇḍavas’ warriors in battle by the hundreds of thousands, was at last struck down by Pārṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: extraordinary prowess and mass killing do not confer moral immunity or permanence. Even a revered teacher-warrior like Droṇa, after immense destruction, meets an inevitable end—suggesting that actions in war carry consequences and that victory and defeat unfold within a larger moral and fated order.
Sañjaya summarizes that Droṇa, fighting fiercely from his splendid (gold-adorned) chariot, slaughtered vast numbers of Pāṇḍava warriors, but was ultimately brought down by Pārṣata—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince and commander of the Pāṇḍava forces.