Shloka 36
धृष्टद्युम्नस्ततो राजन् ज्वलन्तमिव पावकम् । द्रोणपुत्रं त्रिषष्टया तु राजन् विव्याध पत्रिणाम्
dhṛṣṭadyumnas tato rājan jvalantam iva pāvakam | droṇaputraṃ triṣaṣṭyā tu rājan vivyādha patriṇām ||
Sañjaya said: Then, O King, Dhṛṣṭadyumna—like a blazing fire—pierced Droṇa’s son with sixty-three feathered arrows. The image underscores the fierce, unrelenting momentum of battle, where valor and resolve drive warriors to decisive, even ruthless, action amid the collapse of restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uncompromising force of kṣatriya warfare: once battle is joined, resolve and martial duty drive swift, decisive strikes. Ethically, it reflects how the battlefield intensifies human qualities—courage and skill, but also relentless violence—pressing dharma into the hard form of duty under conflict.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Dhṛṣṭadyumna attacks Aśvatthāman (Droṇa’s son) with a concentrated volley of sixty-three arrows, likening Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s fierce advance to a blazing fire.