Shloka 4

Devanagari script

क्षिप्रहस्तं द्विजश्रेष्ठ कृतिनं चित्रयोधिनम्‌ दूरेषुपातिनं दान्तमस्त्रयुद्धेषु पारगम्‌,तात! द्रोणाचार्य तो शत्रुओंके लिये सर्वथा दुर्जय थे। वे सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणसमूहोंकी बारंबार वर्षा करते थे। उनके हाथोंमें फुर्ती थी। वे विचित्र रीतिसे युद्ध करनेवाले और विद्वान थे। दूरतक बाण मारनेवाले और अस्त्र-युद्धमें पारंगत थे। फिर उन जितेन्द्रिय दिव्यास्त्रधारी और अपनी मर्यादासे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले द्विजश्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्यको पांचालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्नने कैसे मार दिया? वे तो रणक्षेत्रमें कठोर कर्म करनेवाले, विजयके लिये प्रयत्नशील और महारथी वीर थे

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kṣiprahastaṃ dvijaśreṣṭha kṛtinaṃ citrayodhinam | dūreṣupātinaṃ dāntam astrayuddheṣu pāragam ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O best of twice-born ones, Droṇa was swift-handed, accomplished, and a warrior of varied and ingenious methods. He could strike from afar with his arrows, was self-controlled, and had mastered the science of fighting with weapons. How, then, did Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the prince of the Pāñcālas, manage to slay that foremost brāhmaṇa—unyielding in battle, ever striving for victory, a mighty chariot-warrior—who seemed in every way unconquerable to his enemies?”

Word by Word

क्षिप्रहस्तम्having swift hands

द्विजश्रेष्ठO best of the twice-born (Brahmin)

कृतिनम्skilled, accomplished

चित्रयोधिनम्fighting in wondrous/varied ways

दूरेषुपातिनम्whose arrows reach far; long-range shooter

दान्तम्self-controlled, restrained

अस्त्रयुद्धेषुin battles with weapons (astra-combat)

पारगम्fully proficient, having crossed to the far shore (expert)

तातO dear one / O father

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Droṇācārya (Droṇa)

Dhṛṣṭadyumna

Pāñcāla (as Pāñcāla prince/lineage)

iṣu (arrows)

astra (weapons/missiles)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between personal excellence and the unpredictable outcomes of war: even a supremely skilled, disciplined, and seemingly invincible warrior can fall. It invites reflection on how fate, strategy, and moral complexity in battle can overturn expectations, and how power without invulnerability remains subject to larger forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of Droṇa’s fall, recalls Droṇa’s extraordinary martial virtues—speed, range, mastery of astras, and self-control—and asks how such a formidable figure could be slain by Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince, thereby expressing shock and seeking an explanation of the circumstances.