Shloka 216
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
अत्यजनुत्तमाज़ानि फलानीव महाद्रुमा: । भरतश्रेष्ठ! ऋष्टियोंद्वारा मारे गये घुड़सवार अपने मस्तकोंको उसी प्रकार गिराते थे, जैसे बड़े-बड़े वृक्ष अपने पके हुए फलोंको गिराते हैं
sañjaya uvāca | atyajan uttamāṅgāni phalānīva mahādrumāḥ | bharataśreṣṭha! ṛṣṭibhir dvārā māritā ghuḍasavārāḥ sva-mastakāni tathā nipātayanti sma, yathā mahādrumāḥ pakva-phalāni nipātayanti ||
ಭರತಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ! ಋಷ್ಟಿಗಳಿಂದ ಹತರಾದ ಅಶ್ವಾರೋಹಿಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಶಿರಸ್ಸುಗಳನ್ನು ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಬೀಳಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು; ಮಹಾವೃಕ್ಷಗಳು ಪಕ್ವವಾದ ಫಲಗಳನ್ನು ಉದುರಿಸುವಂತೆ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark simile to highlight the inevitability and mass nature of death in war: once violence is unleashed, lives fall as naturally and repeatedly as ripe fruit. Ethically, it invites reflection on the cost of conflict even within the framework of kṣatriya-duty.
Sanjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: mounted warriors are being killed by spear-thrusts, and their severed heads are falling in numbers, compared to ripe fruits dropping from large trees.