Shloka 37
अभिमन्युवधः
Abhimanyu’s Fall and the Battlefield Aftermath
तस्य द्रोणो$च्छिनन्मुष्टी खड्गं मणिमयत्सरुम्
tasya droṇo 'cchinan muṣṭī khaḍgaṃ maṇimayat-sarum
Sañjaya dit : Droṇa le frappa à terre—lui tranchant le poing crispé—et coupa l’épée dont la poignée était ornée de gemmes. Dans l’éthique brutale du devoir guerrier, le maître-combattant neutralise la main armée de l’adversaire et met fin au péril immédiat par une force sans appel.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the hard edge of kṣatriya-dharma in war: a commander must neutralize an immediate threat decisively. It also implicitly contrasts martial necessity with the moral weight of injury—victory is pursued through disabling the opponent’s capacity to harm.
Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa, in close combat, cuts off the opponent’s weapon-gripping hand (muṣṭī) and removes the sword with its gem-studded hilt, thereby disarming him.