Shloka 553
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 94: Sātyaki–Sudarśana Yuddha (सात्यकि–सुदर्शन युद्ध)
हाहाकारो महांस्तत्र सैन्यानां समजायत । वीर श्रुतायुधका वध करके वह गदा धरतीपर जा गिरी। लौटी हुई उस गदाको और उसके द्वारा मारे गये वीर श्रुतायुधको देखकर वहाँ आपकी सेनाओंमें महान् हाहाकार मच गया
hāhākāro mahāṁs tatra sainyānāṁ samajāyata | vīraṁ śrutāyudhaṁ hatvā kareṇaiva gadā dharitryāṁ nipapāta | nivṛttāṁ tāṁ gadāṁ dṛṣṭvā tena ca nihataṁ vīraṁ śrutāyudhaṁ ca dṛṣṭvā tatra yuṣmākaṁ sainyeṣu mahān hāhākāraḥ samajāyata |
サञ्जयは語った。「その場で諸軍のあいだに大いなる叫喚が起こった。勇士シュルターユダが討たれると、彼の手にあった棍棒（ガダー）は手から離れて地に落ちた。さらにその棍棒が戻り、しかもその棍棒によって勇敢なるシュルターユダが打ち倒されたのを見て、汝の軍勢には驚愕と恐怖の嘆きが一斉に広がった――暴力はひとたび放たれれば、振るう者自身に返りうるという凶兆であった。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode underscores a moral pattern often highlighted in the Mahābhārata: violence and pride can rebound upon the doer. The returning mace symbolizes how destructive force, once set in motion, may turn back and become the agent of one’s own downfall, stirring fear and ethical reflection in those who witness it.
Sañjaya reports that Śrutāyudha has been killed, and his mace—after striking him—falls to the ground and is seen as having ‘returned.’ The sight of the weapon’s recoil and the hero’s death triggers a great cry and panic among Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s troops.