Shloka 14
अमोघशक्तिव्यंसनप्रश्नः — Why Karṇa’s Śakti Was Not Used on Arjuna
ततो द्रोण: केकयांश्व धृष्टद्युम्नस्प चात्मजान् | सम्प्रैषयत् प्रेतलोक॑ सर्वानिषुभिराशुगै:
tato droṇaḥ kekayāṁś ca dhṛṣṭadyumnasya cātmajān | sampraiṣayat pretalokaṁ sarvān iṣubhir āśugaiḥ ||
Then Droṇa, with swift-flying arrows, dispatched to the realm of the departed all the Kekayas and also the sons of Dhṛṣṭadyumna. The verse underscores the grim momentum of battle, where martial prowess becomes an instrument of mass death, pressing the ethical tension between a warrior’s duty and the human cost of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral gravity of warfare: even when a warrior acts within the accepted code of battle, the outcome is widespread death. It invites reflection on the tension between kṣatriya-duty (fighting as commanded/required) and the profound human cost that such duty can entail.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, using swift arrows, slays the Kekaya fighters and also the sons of Dhṛṣṭadyumna, sending them to pretaloka—the realm of the dead—indicating a decisive and lethal phase of the combat.