Shloka 6

Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

महारथसहस््राणि जषघ्नुरन्योन्यमाहवे

Transliteration

mahāratha-sahasrāṇi jaṣaghnur anyonyam āhave

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「戦の圧迫のただ中で、幾千もの大車戦士が互いを討ち倒した――それは戦争が自らを喰らう狂熱の姿であり、武勇は相互破滅へと転じ、暴力の道義的代償があらわとなった。」

Word by Word

• महारथसहस्राणि: thousands of great chariot-warriors
• महारथसहस्राणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथसहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• जघ्नुः: slew / killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• अन्योन्यम्: one another (mutually)
• अन्योन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mahārathas (great chariot-warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even the mightiest warriors become instruments of reciprocal ruin. It invites reflection on how violence escalates into collective self-destruction, challenging any romanticization of martial glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports the battlefield scene where vast numbers of elite chariot-warriors are killing each other in close combat, conveying the scale and intensity of the fighting in the Drona Parva.