Shloka 3
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa
कथं नु पार्षतस्तात शत्रुभिर्दुष्प्रधर्षणम् किरन्तमिषुसंघातान् रुक्मपुड्खाननेकश:,तात! द्रोणाचार्य तो शत्रुओंके लिये सर्वथा दुर्जय थे। वे सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणसमूहोंकी बारंबार वर्षा करते थे। उनके हाथोंमें फुर्ती थी। वे विचित्र रीतिसे युद्ध करनेवाले और विद्वान थे। दूरतक बाण मारनेवाले और अस्त्र-युद्धमें पारंगत थे। फिर उन जितेन्द्रिय दिव्यास्त्रधारी और अपनी मर्यादासे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले द्विजश्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्यको पांचालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्नने कैसे मार दिया? वे तो रणक्षेत्रमें कठोर कर्म करनेवाले, विजयके लिये प्रयत्नशील और महारथी वीर थे
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kathaṁ nu pārṣatas tāta śatrubhir duṣpradharṣaṇam kirantam iṣusaṅghātān rukmapuṅkhān anekaśaḥ |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “How, dear one, did the son of Pārṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna) manage to slay Droṇa—who was invincible to enemies—while he kept showering countless volleys of arrows with golden feathers? Droṇa was a disciplined Brahmin-warrior, steadfast in his own code, master of divine weapons and the science of arms, and a mighty chariot-fighter intent on victory. By what means, then, was such a formidable teacher brought down on the battlefield?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical shock that arises when an apparently invincible, rule-bound warrior-teacher is slain in war. It points to a Mahābhārata theme: battlefield outcomes are not determined by prowess alone but by strategy, circumstance, and the complex interplay of dharma and adharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya how Dhṛṣṭadyumna (son of Drupada, called Pārṣata) could kill Droṇa, who was raining down golden-feathered arrows and was considered extremely difficult to defeat. The question sets up the account of the events and tactics that led to Droṇa’s fall.