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Shloka 346

Droṇa’s Rebuke to Duryodhana after Jayadratha’s Fall (द्रोणेन दुर्योधनं प्रति प्रत्युक्तिः)

शरैरवचकर्तोंग्रै: क्रुद्धो 5न्तक इव प्रजा: । तदनन्तर उस रफक्षेत्रमें उसने अपने भयंकर बाणोंद्वारा दूसरे-दूसरे सैकड़ों योद्धाओं, हाथियों और रथोंको उसी प्रकार काट डाला, जैसे क्रोधमें भरा हुआ यमराज समस्त प्राणियोंका विनाश करता है

śarair avacakar tīkṣṇaiḥ kruddho ’ntaka iva prajāḥ | tadanantaram asmin raṇakṣetre sa svakaiḥ bhīṣaṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ parasparaṃ śatāni yoddhṝn hastinaḥ rathāṃś ca tathā ciccheda yathā krodhāviṣṭo yamarājaḥ sarvaprāṇināṃ vināśaṃ karoti |

Sañjaya dit : Avec des flèches acérées, au tranchant de rasoir, lui—tel la Mort incarnée lorsqu’elle s’irrite—fauchait les êtres vivants. Ensuite, sur ce champ de bataille, de ses traits effroyables il tailla en pièces, l’un après l’autre, des centaines de guerriers, d’éléphants et de chars, comme Yama, saisi de colère, apporte la ruine à toutes les créatures.

शरैःwith arrows
शरैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootशर
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
अवचकर्तृ-अङ्ग्रैःwith sharp/biting points (lit. cutting limbs)
अवचकर्तृ-अङ्ग्रैः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootअवचकर्तृ-अङ्ग्र
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
क्रुद्धःenraged
क्रुद्धः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootक्रुद्ध
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अन्तकःDeath (Antaka)
अन्तकः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअन्तक
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
इवlike, as if
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
प्रजाःcreatures, beings
प्रजाः:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootप्रजा
FormFeminine, Accusative, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
A
Antaka (Death)
Y
Yamarāja (Yama)
R
raṇakṣetra (battlefield)
A
arrows (śara/bāṇa)
W
warriors (yoddhṛ)
E
elephants (hastin)
C
chariots (ratha)

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights how, in the fury of battle, a warrior’s destructive power can appear like impersonal Death itself. Ethically, it points to the dehumanizing momentum of war: once violence escalates, individual lives—warriors, animals, and the instruments of war—are swept away as if by fate (Yama/Antaka), reminding the listener of impermanence and the grave cost of conflict.

Sañjaya describes a combatant (not named in this line) who, after a preceding event, unleashes a barrage of terrifying, sharp arrows on the battlefield, cutting down in succession hundreds of enemy warriors, elephants, and chariots. The scene is intensified through a simile: he acts like Antaka/Yama destroying beings.