Shloka 40
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
शरैश्न विविधैरन्यैर्थक्ष्यते भूरितेजसम् । इति द्रोणं समाधाय शंसन्ति च रुदन्ति च
śaraiś ca vividhair anyair takṣyate bhūritejasam | iti droṇaṃ samādhāya śaṃsanti ca rudanti ca
Vaiśampāyana said: “With many other kinds of arrows as well, the mighty one of great splendor is being cut down.” Saying this, they laid Droṇa out (for the final rites), speaking of him and lamenting—praising his greatness even as they wept.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most radiant and powerful can be brought down by the machinery of war; the verse juxtaposes praise with tears to underline the ethical cost of violence and the fragility of worldly greatness.
The speakers describe how the great warrior Drona has been cut down amid the battle’s weapons; they then arrange his body and, while recounting his virtues, mourn him—showing collective grief in the aftermath of slaughter.