Shloka 386
भल्लाभ्यां भृशतीक्ष्णाभ्यां चिच्छेद धनुषी तयो: । महाराज! तब आचार्य द्रोणने क्रोध और अमर्षसे युक्त हो दो अत्यन्त तीखे भल्लोंद्वारा उन दोनोंके धनुष काट डाले
sañjaya uvāca | bhallābhyāṃ bhṛśatīkṣṇābhyāṃ ciccheda dhanuṣī tayoḥ | mahārāja! tadā ācāryo droṇaḥ krodha-amārṣa-yuktaḥ dvābhyām atyantatīkṣṇābhyāṃ bhallābhyāṃ tayor dhanuṣī chittvā ||
Sanjaya said: O King, then the preceptor Drona—seized by wrath and intolerant indignation—severed the two bows of those warriors with a pair of exceedingly sharp bhalla arrows. The act shows how, in the heat of battle, mastery of arms is driven not only by skill but also by surging passions that can harden the will and intensify violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how formidable skill in warfare can be intensified by inner states like anger and indignation; ethically, it invites reflection on the danger of krodha (wrath) in decision-making, even when one is highly capable and acting within the battlefield role.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Drona, provoked and enraged, uses two razor-sharp bhalla arrows to cut the bows of two opposing warriors, disabling their ability to fight effectively for the moment.