Shloka 39

Devanagari script

पतद्ं हि ग्रसेच्चाषो यथा क्षुद्रं बुभुक्षित: । तथा द्रोणो5ग्रसच्छूरो धृष्टकेतुं महाहवे,जैसे भूखा हुआ नीलकण्ठ छोटे फतिंगेकी खा जाता है, उसी प्रकार शूरवीर द्रोणाचार्यने उस महासमरमें धृष्टकेतुको अपने बाणोंका ग्रास बना लिया

Transliteration

patadāṃ hi grasec chāṣo yathā kṣudraṃ bubhukṣitaḥ | tathā droṇo 'grasac chūro dhṛṣṭaketuṃ mahāhave ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Just as a hungry blue-throated bird swiftly swallows a small insect, so the heroic Droṇa, in that great battle, made Dhṛṣṭaketu the prey of his arrows—overpowering and consuming his resistance with decisive force.”

Word by Word

पतत्flying (one)

हिindeed/for

ग्रसेत्would swallow/devour

चand

आषःa bird (blue-throated/kingfisher-like; here: नीलकण्ठ)

यथाas/just as

क्षुद्रम्small/tiny

बुभुक्षितःhungry

तथाso/in the same way

द्रोणःDrona

अग्रसत्swallowed/devoured

शूरःthe hero/valiant one

धृष्टकेतुम्Dhrishtaketu

महाहवेin the great battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

द

द्रोण (Droṇa/Droṇācārya)

ध

धृष्टकेतु (Dhṛṣṭaketu)

च

चाष (cāṣa, bird)

ब

बाण (arrows) (implied by the simile’s martial sense and traditional gloss)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the asymmetry of power in war: when a master-warrior meets a comparatively vulnerable opponent, the outcome can be swift and consuming. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s grim realism—valor and skill operate within kṣatriya-dharma, yet the imagery also invites reflection on how easily life is extinguished in battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, fighting in the great engagement, overwhelms Dhṛṣṭaketu. The comparison to a hungry bird swallowing a small insect conveys the speed and inevitability with which Droṇa makes Dhṛṣṭaketu the ‘prey’ of his attack.