Mahabharata 7.21.24 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 24
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
ततो युधिष्टिरं प्रेप्सुराचार्य: शत्रुपूगहा । व्यधमत् तान्यनीकानि तूलराशिमिवानल:
tato yudhiṣṭhiraṃ prepsur ācāryaḥ śatrupūgahā | vyadhamat tāny anīkāni tūlarāśim ivānalaḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「そのとき師ドローナ――敵の群れを滅ぼす者――はユディシュティラを捕らえんとして、あの戦陣をことごとく打ち砕いた。まるで火が綿の山を焼き尽くすように。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral strain of warfare: when a commander fixates on a strategic goal (capturing Yudhiṣṭhira), the means can become massively destructive. The cotton-and-fire simile emphasizes how quickly and indiscriminately violence can spread once unleashed, prompting reflection on proportionality and responsibility even amid duty-bound combat.
Droṇa advances with the intent to seize Yudhiṣṭhira. To reach him, he breaks through and annihilates the intervening troop-formations, overwhelming them with the speed and totality likened to fire burning a pile of cotton.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.