Shloka 37
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
इस प्रकार बाणोंके महान् समुदायसे श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनको घायल करके आनन्दित हुआ द्रोणकुमार महान् मेघोंके गम्भीर घोषके समान गर्जना करने लगा ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
iti prakāraṃ bāṇānāṃ mahān samūhaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ cārjunaṃ ca ghātayitvā ānandito droṇakumāro mahāmeghānāṃ gambhīraghoṣa iva garjitum ārabdhavān ||
Sañjaya said: “Thus, having struck both Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna with a vast, surging mass of arrows, Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāmā) exulted. Like deep-thundering storm-clouds, he began to roar aloud on the battlefield.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how victory in war can breed exhilaration and pride even against revered opponents; it hints that ethical steadiness (dharma) is tested not only by defeat but also by success, which can inflame arrogance and cruelty.
Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, showers Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna with a dense barrage of arrows, wounds them, and then—thrilled by this feat—lets out a thunderous roar likened to the rumbling of storm-clouds.