Mahabharata 7.21.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 39
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
कवचोर्मिध्वजावर्ता मर्त्यकूलापहारिणीम् । गजवाजिमहाग्राहामसिमीनां दुरासदाम्
kavacormidhvajāvartā martyakūlāpahāriṇīm | gajavājimahāgrāhām asimīnām durāsadām ||
Sañjaya berkata: Drona—perkasa dalam keberanian, teguh pada kebenaran, berilmu, kuat, dan sungguh pahlawan—membuat medan perang mengalir bagaikan sungai darah yang mengerikan, laksana air pada saat pralaya. Sungai itu menakutkan bagi mereka yang berhati gentar. Gelombangnya adalah zirah, pusarannya panji-panji; ia merobek tebing yang tersusun dari tubuh-tubuh fana. Di dalamnya gajah dan kuda bagaikan buaya raksasa, dan pedang-pedang berkilat seperti ikan. Sungai itu amat sukar diseberangi—citra daya perang yang melahap, tempat keberanian dan dharma diuji di tengah kehancuran yang menyesakkan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a powerful metaphor—war as an unfordable river—to highlight the overwhelming, devouring nature of battle. It implicitly warns of war’s moral and physical cost, even while acknowledging kṣatriya valor and the grim inevitability of death for mortals.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa’s onslaught has made the battlefield flow like a terrifying river of blood. The scene is described through extended imagery: armor as waves, banners as whirlpools, elephants and horses as crocodiles, and swords as fish—conveying chaos and near-impossibility of escape.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.