Shloka 17
Droṇanidhana-anantaraṃ sainya-viṣādaḥ and Karṇa-pravṛttiḥ
After Droṇa’s fall: army despondency and Karṇa’s advance
त्रैलोक्ये यस्य चास्त्रेषु न पुमान् विद्यते सम: । त॑ द्रोणं निहत॑ श्रुत्वा किमकुर्वत मामका:,तीनों लोकोंमें दूसरा कोई पुरुष जिनके समान अस्त्रवेत्ता नहीं है, उन द्रोणाचार्यको मारा गया सुनकर मेरे पुत्रोंने क्या किया?
trailokye yasya cāstreṣu na pumān vidyate samaḥ | taṁ droṇaṁ nihataṁ śrutvā kim akurvata māmakāḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “In all the three worlds there is no man equal to him in the science of weapons. Hearing that Droṇa had been slain, what did my sons do then?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral shock of war: even the most unrivaled master of arms can fall, forcing leaders to confront impermanence, the limits of power, and the ethical weight of continuing a conflict after revered elders are destroyed.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing that Droṇa—considered unmatched in weapon-lore across the three worlds—has been killed, anxiously asks Sañjaya what his sons (the Kauravas) did in response to this devastating news on the battlefield.