Shloka 29
अध्याय ९९ — युयुधान-दुःशासन-युद्धम्
Chapter 99: Sātyaki and Duḥśāsana’s engagement
जैसे वनमें मांसकी इच्छा रखनेवाला बाज झपट्टा मारता है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे उनपर धृष्टद्युम्मका यह सहसा आक्रमण हुआ था ।। तत: शरशतेनास्य शतचन्द्रं समाक्षिपत् । दोणो द्रुपदपुत्रस्य खड़्गं च दशभि: शरै:,तदनन्तर द्रोणाचार्यने सौ बाण मारकर ट्रुपदकुमारकी ढालको, जिसमें सौ चन्द्राकार चिह्न बने हुए थे, काट गिराया और दस बाणोंसे उनकी तलवारके भी टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर दिये
tataḥ śaraśatenāsya śatacandraṃ samākṣipat | droṇo drupadaputrasya khaḍgaṃ ca daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Droṇa, with a hundred arrows, struck down the shield of Drupada’s son—marked with a hundred moon-emblems—and with ten more shafts he shattered his sword as well. In the fierce ethics of battle, this is a display of mastery aimed at disarming the opponent: not merely to wound, but to strip him of the means to kill, asserting tactical superiority in a moment of deadly intent.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic where superior skill is used to neutralize danger efficiently—here by disarming. It suggests that in dharmic warfare, mastery can be expressed not only through killing but through decisive control of the opponent’s capacity to harm.
In the clash between Droṇa and Dṛṣṭadyumna, Droṇa fires a concentrated volley: he knocks down Dṛṣṭadyumna’s shield decorated with moon-emblems and then breaks his sword with ten arrows, leaving him momentarily weaponless.