Shloka 56
द्रोणवध-प्रश्नः
Droṇa’s Fall: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry
इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शा इन्द्रगोपकसंनिभा: । काये चित्रान्तराश्रित्राश्षित्रायुधमुदावहन्
indrāśani-samasparśā indragopaka-sannibhāḥ | kāye citrāntarāśritrāḥ kṣitrāyudham udāvahan |
Sañjaya dit : «Au toucher, ils étaient durs comme le foudre-vajra d’Indra, et leur teinte rappelait l’éclatant insecte indragopa. Sur leurs corps se dessinaient des motifs bigarrés, et ils brandissaient leurs armes—terribles à voir—signe de l’élan farouche du combat, mû par le destin.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: war amplifies human qualities into near-mythic force. By likening the fighters’ hardness to Indra’s vajra and their appearance to vivid natural imagery, the text highlights how martial resolve can become unyielding—inviting reflection on the cost of such implacability when dharma is contested.
Sañjaya describes combatants in the Drona Parva with striking similes: they are hard like the thunderbolt, vivid in appearance like indragopa, and they carry/brandish weapons. The focus is on the terrifying, energized spectacle of the battlefield as the fighting intensifies.