Shloka 29
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
ततश्नतुर्भिश्न शरैस्तूर्ण तांस्तुरगोत्तमान् । समीपं प्रेषयामास प्रेतराजस्य भारत,भारत! फिर तत्काल ही चार बाणोंसे उन्होंने सोमदत्तके उन उत्तम घोड़ोंको प्रेतराज यमके समीप भेज दिया
tataś caturbhiḥ śaraiḥ tūrṇaṃ tāṃs turagottamān | samīpaṃ preṣayāmāsa pretarājasya bhārata ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors, d’un geste prompt, les frappant de quatre flèches, il envoya ces chevaux d’élite jusqu’à la présence même de Yama, seigneur des trépassés—les livrant ainsi à la mort au cœur du combat, ô Bhārata.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the battlefield reality of impermanence and death: even powerful instruments of war (like elite horses) are swiftly destroyed. By invoking Yama (Pretarāja), the text frames death as an inevitable moral horizon before which martial prowess and possessions alike are transient.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior quickly shoots four arrows and kills the excellent horses (associated in context with Somadatta), metaphorically 'sending' them to Yama’s realm—i.e., causing their death during the fighting.