Shloka 313
भारद्वाजाय चिक्षेप रुषितामिव पन्नगीम् | तत्पश्चात् उन्होंने धृष्टकेतुको पचीस बाण मारे। उस समय धृष्टकेतुने शीघ्रतापूर्वक रथसे कूदकर गदा हाथमें ले ली और रोषमें भरी हुई सर्पिणीके समान उसे द्रोणाचार्यपर दे मारा
sañjaya uvāca | bhāradvājāya cikṣepa ruṣitām iva pannagīm | tatpaścāt dhṛṣṭaketum pañcaviṃśati-bāṇair avākirat | atha dhṛṣṭaketuḥ śīghraṃ rathāt praskandya gadāṃ pāṇau gṛhītvā roṣeṇa pūrṇāṃ sarpiṇīm iva tāṃ droṇācāryāya prāhiṇot |
Sanjaya said: He hurled it at Bhāradvāja’s son (Droṇa) like an enraged she-serpent. After that, he struck Dhṛṣṭaketu with twenty-five arrows. Then Dhṛṣṭaketu quickly leapt down from his chariot, seized a mace in his hand, and—like a serpentess swollen with wrath—flung it at Droṇācārya. The scene shows how, in the press of war, anger drives warriors from measured combat into sudden, perilous escalation, where courage and rashness stand side by side.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how wrath (roṣa) can overtake discernment in battle: valor remains, but anger pushes actions toward dangerous escalation. It implicitly warns that even within kṣatriya warfare, self-mastery is a crucial ethical restraint.
A weapon is hurled at Droṇa (called Bhāradvāja’s son) with the force of an enraged serpentess. Droṇa then showers Dhṛṣṭaketu with twenty-five arrows. Dhṛṣṭaketu leaps from his chariot, takes up a mace, and in fury throws it at Droṇa.