Shloka 15
तदनन्तर द्रोणाचार्यने केकयों और धृष्टद्युम्नके समस्त पुत्रोंको अपने शीघ्रगामी बाणोंद्वारा यमलोक भेज दिया ।। तस्य प्रमुखतो राजन् येडवर्तन्त महारथा: । तान् सर्वान् प्रेषयामास पितृलोक॑ स भारत
tadanantaraṃ droṇācāryeṇa kekayān dhṛṣṭadyumnasya ca samastaputrān svaiḥ śīghragāmibhiḥ bāṇaiḥ yamalokaṃ preṣitāḥ || tasya pramukhato rājan ye ’vartanta mahārathāḥ | tān sarvān preṣayāmāsa pitṛlokaṃ sa bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: Thereafter Droṇācārya, with his swift-flying arrows, sent the Kekayas and all the sons of Dhṛṣṭadyumna to Yama’s realm. O King, those great chariot-warriors who advanced at his very front—he dispatched them all to the world of the Fathers. The passage underscores the grim momentum of battle, where prowess and duty in war culminate in death and the transition to the afterlife.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inexorable consequence of war: even renowned heroes fall, and death is framed as a passage to cosmic realms (Yama’s and the Pitṛs’). It implicitly warns that martial excellence, when bound to the logic of battle, leads to irreversible loss—inviting reflection on dharma, responsibility, and the cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, fighting fiercely, shoots down the Kekaya warriors and all the sons of Dhṛṣṭadyumna with swift arrows. Those who confront him at the front—great chariot-warriors—are slain and described as being sent to Yamaloka/Pitṛloka.