Shloka 33
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
तत: शरसहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च । ससूजे द्रौणिरायस्त: संस्तभ्य च रणे<र्जुनम्
tataḥ śara-sahasrāṇi prayutāny arbudāni ca | sasūje drauṇir āyastaḥ saṃstabhya ca raṇe 'rjunam ||
Sañjaya said: Then Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā), having taken aim, checked Arjuna in the midst of battle and began to shower upon him arrows by the thousand—by tens of thousands, and even by crores—an overwhelming missile-storm meant to immobilize and dominate his foe.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mastery of force and tactics can be used to overwhelm an opponent; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the destructive excess that battle can unleash when victory becomes the sole aim.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi), son of Droṇa, takes aim, checks Arjuna’s movement on the battlefield, and unleashes a massive barrage of arrows—described in hyperbolic numbers to convey the intensity of the assault.