Mahabharata 7.141.124 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 141, Shloka 124
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
कड्कबर्हिणवासोभिर्बलं व्यधमदर्जुन: । उस समय उन्होंने कंक और मोरकी पाँखोंसे युक्त नाराचोंद्वारा घोड़ों, हाथियों और मनुष्योंके शरीरोंको विदीर्ण करके सारी सेनाको तहस-नहस कर दिया ।।
sañjaya uvāca | kaṅkabārhiṇavāsobhir balaṃ vyadhamad arjunaḥ | tad balaṃ bharataśreṣṭha savājidvipamānavam |
Sañjaya dit : Arjuna brisa cette armée par des flèches empennées de plumes de vautour et de panaches de paon. Ô meilleur des Bharata, il transperça les corps des chevaux, des éléphants et des hommes, et abattit cette troupe—serrée de coursiers, de grands tuskers et de guerriers—la réduisant en ruines. Le passage souligne l’effroyable efficacité de l’art martial dans la guerre : la prouesse sert une cause dharmique plus vaste, mais au prix humain dévastateur.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of dharmic warfare: extraordinary skill and resolve can be necessary to uphold a righteous cause, yet the means remain destructive. It invites reflection on responsibility, restraint, and the heavy moral weight borne even by justified combat.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, using arrows with distinctive feather-fletching, devastates an opposing formation packed with horses, elephants, and soldiers, effectively routing and annihilating that section of the army.
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