Shloka 52
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
ततो द्रोण: सत्यसंध: प्रभिन्न इव कुझ्जर: । अभ्यतीत्य रथानीकं दृढसेनमपातयत्,तदनन्तर सत्यप्रतिज्ञ द्रोणने मदकी धारा बहानेवाले गजराजकी भाँति रथ-सेनाको लाँघकर दृढसेनको मार गिराया
tato droṇaḥ satyasaṃdhaḥ prabhinna iva kuñjaraḥ | abhyatītya rathānīkaṃ dṛḍhasenam apātayat ||
Sañjaya said: Then Droṇa, steadfast in his vow, surged forward like a maddened elephant that has broken through restraints. Leaping into the massed chariot-formation, he struck down Dṛḍhasena. The scene underscores how, in the frenzy of war, a warrior’s pledged resolve (satya-saṃdhi) becomes a driving force that can overwhelm formations and lives alike—raising the ethical tension between fidelity to one’s word and the devastation wrought by that very commitment on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights satyasaṃdhi—steadfastness to one’s pledged word—as a powerful moral force. In the Mahābhārata’s war context, it also exposes the ethical strain: virtues like fidelity and resolve, when harnessed to warfare, can intensify destruction, prompting reflection on how dharma operates amid conflict.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, compared to a charging elephant, breaks into the enemy chariot-formation (rathānīka) and causes the warrior Dṛḍhasena to fall—i.e., he defeats and strikes him down in battle.