Mahabharata 7.170.27 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 170, Shloka 27
द्रौणिप्रतिज्ञा–नारायणास्त्रवर्णनम्
Drauṇi’s Vow and the Description of the Nārāyaṇāstra
राजेन्द्र! तब सारथि अपने कर्तव्यका स्मरण करके उन्हें रणभूमिसे दूर हटा ले गया। पांचालोंके महारथी द्रपदके हट जानेपर बाणोंसे कटे हुए कवचवाली द्रुपदकी सारी सेना उस भयंकर आधीरातके समय वहाँसे भाग चली ।।
sañjaya uvāca | rājendra! tadā sārathiḥ svakartavyasya smaraṇaṃ kṛtvā tān raṇabhūmeḥ dūraṃ apānayat | pāñcālānāṃ mahārathaḥ drupadaḥ nivṛtte (apagate) sati bāṇaiḥ chinnakavacā drupadasya sarvā senā sā bhayānakārdharātrasamaye tataḥ palāyitā || pradīpaiḥ hi parityaktaiḥ jvaladbhiḥ taiḥ samantataḥ | vyarājata mahī rājan vītābhrā dyauḥ iva grahaiḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: ¡Oh rey de reyes! Entonces el auriga, recordando su deber, los apartó del campo de batalla. Cuando Drupada—gran guerrero de carro de los Pāñcālas—se hubo retirado, todo el ejército de Drupada, con las armaduras cortadas y desgarradas por las flechas, huyó de aquel lugar en la terrible hora de la medianoche. Pues las antorchas que los soldados en fuga arrojaron ardían por todas partes; con su resplandor la tierra, oh rey, brillaba como un cielo sin nubes colmado de planetas y estrellas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid chaos, one’s dharma is expressed through clear remembrance of duty: the charioteer’s disciplined action—removing the warriors from immediate danger—contrasts with the army’s panic. The verse also hints at the ethical cost of war: fear spreads quickly, and once leadership withdraws, collective morale collapses.
After Drupada withdraws from the fight, his Pāñcāla forces—wounded and with armor cut by arrows—break formation and flee in the terrifying midnight hour. As they run, they throw away their torches; the abandoned torches burn across the field, making the ground glow like a cloudless night sky filled with planets and stars.
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