Shloka 44
अन्तकप्रतिमश्नोग्रो रात्रियुद्धेडदहत् प्रजा: । 'तत्पश्चात् उग्रमूर्ति महारथी द्रोणाचार्य पाँच दिनोंतक अभेद्यव्यूहका निर्माण, शत्रुसेनाका विध्वंस, महारथियोंका विनाश तथा समरांगणमें जयद्रथकी रक्षा करनेके अनन्तर रात्रियुद्धमें यमराजके समान प्रजाको दग्ध करने लगे ।। दग्ध्वा योधान् शरैरवीरो भारद्वाज: प्रतापवान्
antaka-pratimaśnugro rātri-yuddhe dadāha prajāḥ | tat-paścāt ugra-mūrtiḥ mahā-rathī droṇācāryaḥ pañca-dināni abhēdya-vyūhasya nirmāṇaṃ śatru-senāyā vidhvaṃsaṃ mahā-rathīnām vināśaṃ tathā samara-aṅgaṇe jayadrathasya rakṣaṇaṃ kṛtvā anantaram rātri-yuddhe yama-rāja-samaḥ prajāṃ dagdhum ārabdhavān || dagdhvā yodhān śarair avīro bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān |
サञ्जयは言った。「夜戦において、その猛き戦士は—姿まさにアンタカ（死）—軍勢を焼き払うがごとく蹂躙した。ついで、五日間にわたり破りがたい陣を築き、敵軍を粉砕し、大勇士らを滅ぼし、戦場でジャヤドラタを守り抜いたのち、剛なる姿の大車戦士ドローナाचार्यは、夜の戦いでヤマ（死の王）のごとく群衆を灼きはじめた。矢をもって戦士たちを焼き尽くしたのち、勇猛にして威力あるバラドヴァージャの子は……」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: even renowned teachers and great warriors, once immersed in total war, can become instruments of mass destruction—likened to Death itself. It invites reflection on how strategy, duty, and vengeance can eclipse compassion, and how war dehumanizes the ‘multitude’ into something that can be ‘burned’ or ‘scorched’.
Sanjaya describes the ferocity of the fighting, emphasizing a night-battle in which a great warrior ‘burns’ the host like Death. The passage recalls Droṇa’s prior feats—creating an unbreakable formation for five days, crushing the enemy, slaying great champions, and protecting Jayadratha—before stating that he continues to devastate warriors with volleys of arrows.