Shloka 66
तोत्रैरिव महानागं द्रोणं ब्राह्मणपुज्ञवम् । तब उन दोनोंने भी अंकुशोंसे महान् गजराजके समान सीधे जानेवाले तीन-तीन बाणोंद्वारा ब्राह्मणप्रवर द्रोणाचार्यको घायल करके तुरंत बदला चुकाया,श्रेय एव परं कृष्ण लोके भवति सर्वतः । 'सात्वतशिरोमणे! इस महासमरमें आज मुझे मार गिराइये। देव! निष्पाप श्रीकृष्ण! आपके द्वारा संग्राममें मारे जानेपर भी संसारमें सब ओर मेरा परम कल्याण ही होगा ।। ६५ - सम्भावितो5स्मि गोविन्द त्रैलोक्येनाद्य संयुगे
totrair iva mahānāgaṃ droṇaṃ brāhmaṇapuṅgavam | śreya eva paraṃ kṛṣṇa loke bhavati sarvataḥ || sātvatāśiromaṇe asmin mahāsamare ’dya māṃ mārayasva | deva niṣpāpa śrīkṛṣṇa tvayā saṃgrāme mārite ’pi saṃsāre sarvato mama paramaṃ kalyāṇam eva bhaviṣyati | sambhāvito ’smi govinda trailokyenādya saṃyuge ||
Sañjaya said: Like a great elephant checked by goads, the foremost Brahmin Droṇa was struck by straight-flying triple shafts, and the two warriors at once repaid him in kind. Then a voice declares: “O Kṛṣṇa, the highest good alone arises everywhere in the world. O crest-jewel of the Sātvatas, in this great battle today, strike me down. O god, sinless Śrī Kṛṣṇa—though I be slain by you in combat, for me it will be supreme welfare on every side. O Govinda, today in this encounter I am honored by the three worlds.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames death at the hands of Kṛṣṇa as intrinsically auspicious: when one’s end is connected to the divine, the outcome is described as śreyas/kalyāṇa (supreme welfare), suggesting a moral-spiritual valuation beyond mere victory or survival.
In the battle account, Droṇa is compared to a great elephant being checked by goads as he is struck by straight, triple shafts; immediately after, a speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa with intense resolve, asking to be slain in the fight and asserting that such a death would bring ultimate good and honor recognized by the three worlds.