Shloka 353

Devanagari script

द्रोणं प्रति महाराज विराटश्नैव संयुगे । महाराज! इसके बाद राजा ट्रुपद और विराटने द्रोणाचार्यपर समरांगणमें क्रोधपूर्वक बाणोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

droṇaṃ prati mahārāja virāṭaś caiva saṃyuge |

Translation

Sañjaya said: O great king, in the thick of battle Virāṭa too turned against Droṇa; and thereafter, with wrath rising, the kings Drupada and Virāṭa began to shower Droṇācārya with volleys of arrows on the field—an act driven by the fierce demands of war and long-standing enmities rather than calm deliberation.

Word by Word

• द्रोणम्: Drona (as object/target)
• द्रोणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रति: towards, against
• प्रति: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विराटः: Virata
• विराटः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विराट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Droṇa (Droṇācārya)
• Virāṭa
• Drupada
• battlefield (samara/saṃyuga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, even renowned kings act under the pressure of kṣatriya-duty and intense emotion; it implicitly warns that anger can drive action, while the battlefield compels swift, forceful responses aligned with martial dharma rather than personal serenity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Virāṭa, and then Drupada together with Virāṭa, turn their attack toward Droṇa on the battlefield, beginning a concentrated barrage of arrows against him.