Shloka 236
तावेवान्ये समासाद्य जम्मुर्वैवस्वतक्षयम् । भारत! उस समय द्रोणाचार्य और अर्जुन--इन दो वीरोंको छोड़कर शेष सारी सेना तुरंत विह्लल, उदभ्रानन््त, भयभीत और आतुर हो गयी। वे ही दोनों अपने-अपने पक्षके योद्धाओंके लिये छिपनेके स्थान थे और वे ही पीड़ितोंके आश्रय बने हुए थे। परंतु विपक्षी योद्धा इन्हीं दोनोंक समीप जाकर यमलोक पहुँच जाते थे
tāv evānye samāsādya jambur vaivasvatakṣayam | bhārata! us samaya droṇācārya aura arjuna—ina do vīroṃ ko choḍakara śeṣa sārī senā turanta vihlala, udabhrānt, bhayabhīta aura ātura ho gayī | ve hī donoṃ apane-apane pakṣa ke yoddhāoṃ ke liye chipane ke sthāna the aura ve hī pīḍitoṃ ke āśraya bane hue the | paraṃtu vipakṣī yoddhā inhīṃ donoṃ ke samīpa jākar yamaloka pahuṃca jāte the ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, at that moment—except for those two heroes, Droṇācārya and Arjuna—the rest of the army at once became shaken, bewildered, fearful, and desperate. Those two alone served as hiding-places for the warriors of their respective sides, and as refuge for the afflicted. Yet the fighters of the opposing side, upon approaching either of them, were carried straight to the realm of Yama (death).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological reality of war: exceptional warriors can become both refuge for their own side and death for the enemy. It underscores how power and responsibility concentrate in a few figures, and how fear and dependence spread through the many—an implicit reminder that martial excellence (kṣatriya-dharma) carries grave ethical weight because it determines life, death, and the morale of entire armies.
Sañjaya reports that the battlefield has reached a crisis-point where most soldiers are panicked and disoriented. Only Droṇa and Arjuna remain steady and function as protective anchors for their respective forces. At the same time, any opposing warrior who dares to close in on either of them is effectively slain—described poetically as reaching Yama’s realm.