Shloka 176
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya
Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance
अर्द्यमाना: शरैस्तूर्ण न्न्यपतन् पाण्डुसैनिका: । आपके धरनुर्धर पुत्रके द्वारा चलाये हुए सुवर्णमय पंख तथा चमकती हुई धारवाले बाणोंसे पीड़ित होकर बहुतेरे पाण्डव-सैनिक तुरंत धराशायी हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | ardyamānāḥ śarais tūrṇaṃ nyapatan pāṇḍu-sainikāḥ | āpake dhanuḥ-dhara putrake dvārā calāye hue suvarṇa-maya pakṣa tathā camakatī huī dhārā-vāle bāṇoṃ se pīḍita hokara bahutere pāṇḍava-sainika turanta dharāśāyī ho gaye |
サञ्जयは言った。疾き矢に打たれ、追い立てられて、パーンドゥ軍の兵はたちまち倒れ伏した。汝の弓を執る子が放つ矢—黄金めいた羽根を備え、刃のごとく光る鋭い鏃—に苦しめられ、多くのパーンダヴァの戦士が瞬く間に地に伏した。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immediate human cost of warfare and the ethical tension inherent in kshatriya conflict: skill and duty can produce swift victory, yet the suffering inflicted remains morally weighty. It invites reflection on responsibility and the gravity of violence even when performed under the banner of duty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the Pandava troops are being rapidly cut down. They fall quickly under a barrage of sharp, gleaming arrows—described as having golden wings—shot by Dhritarashtra’s son (contextually, Duryodhana) acting as an archer on the battlefield.