Shloka 21
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
शरबाणासनधरा यवनाश्ष प्रहारिण: । शका: किराता दरदा बर्बरास्ताम्रलिप्तका:
śarabāṇāsanadharā yavanāś ca prahāriṇaḥ | śakāḥ kirātā daradā barbarās tāmrālipṭakāḥ ||
Sūta dit : «Il y avait des guerriers portant arcs et flèches—les Yavanas, terribles à l’assaut ; les Śakas, les Kirātas, les Daradas, les Barbares, et le peuple de Tāmrālipta.» Le vers souligne que la guerre attira maints groupes des marches et des terres étrangères, révélant l’immensité multiethnique du conflit et le poids moral d’un combat qui engloutit les quatre directions.
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immense scope of the Kurukṣetra war: it was not a small dynastic quarrel but a catastrophe drawing in many peoples. Ethically, it points to how adharma and political ambition can expand violence outward, implicating ever more communities and increasing collective suffering.
The narrator (Sūta) lists contingents present in the battle—archers from various regions and peoples (Yavanas, Śakas, Kirātas, Daradas, Barbaras, and those from Tāmrālipta)—as part of a broader description of the assembled forces and the intensity of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.