Shloka 54
शरचापेन्धनो द्रोण: क्षत्रं दहहति तेजसा । धनुष-बाणरूपी ईंधनसे युक्त हो तेजसे अग्निके समान प्रज्वलित होनेवाले ये द्रोणाचार्य अपने प्रभावसे क्षत्रियोंकी दग्ध कर रहे हैं || ५३ ह ।। पुरा करोति निःशेषां पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम्
śaracāpendhano droṇaḥ kṣatraṃ dahati tejasā | dhanuṣ-bāṇarūpīndhanase yukto tejasāgnisamaḥ prajvalito 'yaṃ droṇācāryaḥ svaprabhāvena kṣatriyān dagdhān karoti || purā karoti niḥśeṣāṃ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm |
Bhīmasena dit : «Droṇa, prenant l’arc et les flèches pour combustible, brûle la multitude des guerriers de l’ardeur de sa prouesse. Tel un feu nourri de l’arc et des traits, le précepteur—flamboyant d’énergie martiale—consume les kṣatriya par la seule puissance et rend l’armée des Pāṇḍava entièrement déserte.»
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield prowess as a consuming fire: when martial power is unchecked, it devastates entire hosts. Ethically, it highlights the tragic cost of war and the tension between a warrior’s duty and the catastrophic consequences of that duty when directed against one’s own kin and former students.
Bhīma describes Droṇa’s overwhelming effectiveness in battle. Using a fire metaphor—bow and arrows as fuel—he laments that Droṇa is scorching the Kṣatriya forces and reducing the Pāṇḍavas’ army toward annihilation.