Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya-saṃvādaḥ; madhyāhna-saṅgrāma-pravṛttiḥ
Dhritarashtra–Sanjaya dialogue and the midday battle escalation
ध्वजमेकेन विव्याध सारथथिं चास्य पञ्चभि: | धनुरेकेषुणाविध्यत् तत्राक्रुध्यद् द्विजर्षभ:,फिर एक बाणसे ध्वजको, पाँच बाणोंसे सारथिको और एकसे धनुषको बींध डाला। इससे द्विजश्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्यको बड़ा क्रोध हुआ
dhvajam ekena vivyādha sārathiṁ cāsya pañcabhiḥ | dhanur ekeṣuṇā vidhyat tatrākrudhyad dvijarṣabhaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: With a single arrow he pierced the banner; with five he struck down his charioteer; and with one more he cut through the bow. At this, the bull among Brahmins—Droṇācārya—was inflamed with anger, for the warrior’s skill had turned the battle into a pointed moral challenge: prowess used to disable and humiliate, rather than merely to kill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how mastery in war can be used to disable an opponent’s capacity (banner, charioteer, bow) and thereby provoke moral-emotional reactions; it warns that wounded honor and thwarted power often ignite anger, which can cloud judgment in dharmic conduct.
In Sañjaya’s report of the battle, a warrior shoots precisely: first piercing the chariot’s banner, then striking the charioteer with five arrows, and finally piercing/cutting the bow with one arrow. This display enrages Droṇācārya, described as the foremost Brahmin.