Mahabharata 7.121.2 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 121, Shloka 2
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
रथाश्वनागकलिलं शरशक्त्यूमिमालिनम् । खड्गमत्स्यं गदाग्राहं शूरायुधभहास्वनम्
sañjaya uvāca |
rathāśvanāgakalilaṃ śaraśaktyūrmimālinam |
khaḍgamatsyaṃ gadāgrāhaṃ śūrāyudhabahāsvanam ||
“તાત! રથો, ઘોડા અને હાથીઓથી ભરેલી દ્રોણાચાર્યની સેના મહાસાગર જેવી હતી. તેમાં બાણ અને શક્તિ વગેરે અસ્ત્ર-શસ્ત્રો તરંગમાળાની જેમ જણાતાં; ખડ્ગ માછલાં સમાન અને ગદા ગ્રાહ સમાન હતી. શૂરવીરોના આયુધપ્રહારોમાંથી ઊઠતો મહાન નાદ જાણે સાગરનું ભયંકર ગર્જન હોય તેમ હતો.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not preach a direct moral maxim; it conveys the ethical weight of war through imagery: battle is an overwhelming, engulfing force—like an ocean—where weapons become the very ‘creatures’ and ‘waves’ that threaten life. The simile underscores how easily human agency is swallowed by collective violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, portraying Droṇa’s forces as a terrifying ‘army-ocean’ packed with chariots, horses, and elephants; arrows and spears are its waves, swords its fish, and maces its crocodiles, while the clash of weapons forms its thunderous roar.
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