Shloka 24
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena
तथा द्रौणिं रणे दृष्टवा पार्षत: परवीरहा । नातिदह्ृष्टमना भूत्वा मन्यते मृत्युमात्मन:,आर्य! जैसे द्रोणाचार्य समरभूमिमें धृष्टद्युम्मको देखकर मन-ही-मन खिन्न हो उसे अपनी मृत्यु मानते थे, उसी प्रकार शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले धृष्टद्युम्न भी रफक्षेत्रमें अश्वत्थामाको देखकर अप्रसन्न हो उसे अपनी मृत्यु समझते थे
tathā drauṇiṃ raṇe dṛṣṭvā pārṣataḥ paravīrahā | nātidahṛṣṭamanā bhūtvā manyate mṛtyum ātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Just as Dṛṣṭadyumna, the son of Pṛṣata and slayer of enemy-heroes, upon seeing Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi) on the battlefield, felt no great joy and inwardly regarded him as his own death—so too, when Aśvatthāmā saw Dṛṣṭadyumna in the fight, he likewise took him to be the very cause of his death. The verse underscores the grim reciprocity of war: each warrior recognizes in the other not merely an opponent, but a fated end shaped by past enmity and the moral weight of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological burden of war: warriors come to see certain opponents as embodiments of their destined end. It reflects how cycles of hostility and past deeds (karma) can make combat feel fated, intensifying fear and resolve while underscoring the tragic reciprocity of violence.
Sañjaya describes Dṛṣṭadyumna seeing Aśvatthāmā on the battlefield and becoming inwardly uneasy, regarding him as his own death. The statement implies a mutual, ominous recognition between the two adversaries in the midst of the Kurukṣetra war.