Shloka 54
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
चेकितानो धृष्टकेतुर्युयुत्सुश्चार्दयन् द्विपम् । त एन॑ शरधाराभिर्धाराभिरिव तोयदा:
cekitāno dhṛṣṭaketur yuyutsuś cārdayan dvipam | te enaṁ śaradhārābhir dhārābhir iva toyadāḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。チェーキターナ、ドゥリシュタケートゥ、そしてユユツは、その象に激しく迫った。彼らは絶え間ない矢の流れを浴びせ、雨雲が切れ目なく奔流を注ぐがごとく—正しき憤りと戦場の務めのただ中に、容赦なき力の相を示した。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores steadfastness in one’s appointed duty amid chaos: disciplined, collective effort in battle is portrayed through the ethical frame of kṣatriya-dharma, using a vivid simile to show unwavering resolve rather than cruelty for its own sake.
Sañjaya reports that Cekitāna, Dhṛṣṭaketu, and Yuyutsu jointly assail an elephant, striking it with dense, continuous volleys of arrows, compared to rain-clouds releasing torrents.