Shloka 51
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
युधिष्ठिरो द्वादशभिद्रोणं विव्याध सायकै: । धष्टय्युम्नश्व॒ दशभिश्लेकितानस्त्रिभि: शरै:,उस समय शिखण्डीने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले पाँच बाणोंद्वारा द्रोणाचार्यको बींध डाला। तत्पश्चात् क्षत्रवर्माने बीस, वसुदानने पाँच, उत्तमौजाने तीन, क्षत्रदेवने सात, सात्यकिने सौ, युधामन्युने आठ और युधिष्छिरने बारह बाणोंद्वारा युद्धस्थलमें द्रोणाचार्यको घायल कर दिया। धृष्टद्युम्नने दस और चेकितानने उन्हें तीन बाण मारे
sañjaya uvāca | yudhiṣṭhiro dvādaśabhir droṇaṃ vivyādha sāyakaiḥ | dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca daśabhiś cekitānas tribhiḥ śaraiḥ |
Sañjaya said: Yudhiṣṭhira struck Droṇācārya with twelve arrows. Dhṛṣṭadyumna pierced him with ten, and Cekitāna with three. The scene underscores the grim momentum of war: many righteous and renowned warriors converge upon a single master of arms, and even revered teachers become targets when the demands of battle and allegiance override personal reverence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a dharmic framework, war forces painful collisions of obligations: respect for a teacher and the necessity to oppose him when he stands with the enemy. The verse highlights how allegiance and battlefield duty can compel actions that would otherwise be morally unthinkable in peacetime.
Sañjaya reports that multiple Pāṇḍava-side warriors concentrate their attack on Droṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira hits him with twelve arrows, Dhṛṣṭadyumna with ten, and Cekitāna with three, wounding the great commander amid the ongoing battle.