Shloka 326
द्रोणान्तिकमनुप्राप्ता दीप्तास्या पन्नगी यथा । केंचुलसे छूटे हुए सर्पके समान राजाकी भुजाओंसे मुक्त हुई वह शक्ति आकाश, दिशाओं तथा विदिशाओं (कोणों)-को प्रकाशित करती हुई जलते मुखवाली नागिनके समान द्रोणाचार्यके निकट जा पहुँची
sañjaya uvāca | droṇāntikam anuprāptā dīptāsyā pannagī yathā | keñculase chūṭe hue sarpake samāna rājākī bhujāoṃse muktā huī sā śakti ākāśaṃ diśaś ca vidiśaś ca (koṇān) prakāśayantī jvalanmukhī nāginīva droṇācāryasya nikaṭaṃ jagāma |
Sanjaya said: Released from the king’s arms like a serpent slipping free of its cast-off skin, that blazing missile sped toward Drona. Lighting up the sky, the quarters, and the intermediate directions, it rushed on like a fire-mouthed she-serpent and reached the vicinity of Dronacharya—an image that underscores how, in war, unleashed power becomes impersonal and terrifying, moving beyond the thrower’s control toward its destined target.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how destructive force, once released, takes on a relentless, almost autonomous momentum—suggesting an ethical warning: in war, power and anger can outstrip intention, and the consequences move swiftly toward their target regardless of later regret.
Sanjaya describes a spear-like missile (śakti) that has been hurled by a king; it slips free from his arms like a snake shedding its skin, blazes through the sky illuminating all directions, and speeds to Dronacharya’s vicinity like a fire-mouthed she-serpent.