Mahabharata 7.21.50 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 50
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
उत्तमौजास्त्रिभिाणिे: क्षत्रदेवश्च सप्तभि: । सात्यकिश्न शतेनाजौ युधामन्युस्तथाष्टभि:
sañjaya uvāca | uttamaujās tribhir bāṇaiḥ kṣatradevaś ca saptabhiḥ | sātyakiś ca śatena ajau yudhāmanyus tathāṣṭabhiḥ |
Dijo Sañjaya: En aquella batalla, Uttamaujas hirió a Droṇa con tres flechas, y Kṣatradeva con siete. Sātyaki, en lo más recio del combate, lo atravesó con cien, y Yudhāmanyu asimismo con ocho. La escena subraya el sombrío impulso de la guerra: muchos guerreros justos, movidos por el deber y la necesidad, convergen sobre un solo maestro de las armas, convirtiendo el campo de batalla en prueba de resolución, contención y del trágico costo del dharma perseguido mediante la violencia.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of dharma in war: even a revered teacher like Droṇa becomes a target when duty to one’s side and the perceived necessity of ending a destructive threat override personal reverence. It invites reflection on how righteous intent can still entail grievous harm in a dharmic crisis.
Sañjaya reports a coordinated attack in which multiple warriors—Uttamaujas, Kṣatradeva, Sātyaki, and Yudhāmanyu—strike Droṇa with specified numbers of arrows, emphasizing the intensity of the assault and Droṇa’s central, dangerous presence on the battlefield.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.