Shloka 32
स महास्त्रैर्महाराज द्रोणमाच्छादयदू रणे । निहत्य सर्वाण्यस्त्राणि भारद्वाजस्य पार्षत:,महाराज! धृष्टद्युम्नने रणभूमिमें द्रोणाचार्यके सभी अस्त्रोंको नष्ट करके उन्हें अपने महान् अस्त्रोंद्वारा आच्छादित कर दिया
sa mahāstrair mahārāja droṇam ācchādayad raṇe | nihatya sarvāṇy astrāṇi bhāradvājasya pārṣataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, on the battlefield the son of Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna), having struck down and neutralized all the weapons of Bhāradvāja’s son (Droṇa), then overwhelmed Droṇa with his own mighty celestial missiles. The scene underscores the grim ethics of war: mastery and counter-mastery of arms decide fate, even when the opponent is a revered teacher, and the conflict forces warriors to set aside personal reverence in pursuit of their sworn duty and strategic aim.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a righteous-war framework, duty and strategic necessity can compel a warrior to confront revered figures; the episode highlights the harsh moral tension between personal reverence (for a teacher) and the kṣatriya obligation to pursue one’s pledged objective in battle.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna counters and nullifies Droṇa’s deployed weapons and then blankets Droṇa with a superior barrage of powerful astras, as Sañjaya reports the escalating duel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.