Mahabharata 7.112.6 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 112, Shloka 6
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय ११२) — कर्णभीमयोर्युद्धम्, दुर्योधनस्य रक्षणादेशः
Droṇa-parva 112: Karṇa–Bhīma Engagement and Duryodhana’s Protective Order
ते वर्म भित्त्वा सुदृढं द्विषत्पिशितभोजना: । अभ्ययुर्थधरणीं राजन् श्वसन्त इव पन्नगा:
te varma bhittvā sudṛḍhaṁ dviṣat-piśita-bhojanāḥ | abhyayur dharaṇīṁ rājan śvasanta iva pannagāḥ ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ರಾಜನೇ! ಶತ್ರುಭಕ್ಷಕ, ಮಾಂಸಭೋಜಿಗಳಂತೆ ಅವರು ಸಾತ್ಯಕಿಯ ಅತಿದೃಢ ಕವಚವನ್ನು ಭೇದಿಸಿ, ಫುಸಫುಸನೆ ಉಸಿರಾಡುವ ಸರ್ಪಗಳಂತೆ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಧಾವಿಸಿದರು.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark similes—flesh-eaters and hissing serpents—to show how war strips away restraint: once a defender’s protection is broken, aggression advances with predatory inevitability. Ethically, it highlights the dehumanizing nature of battle and the peril of letting hatred and bloodlust govern action.
Sañjaya describes warriors who have smashed a strong armour and then surge forward, compared to serpents hissing as they move along the ground. It is a vivid battlefield report emphasizing the attackers’ ferocity and the collapse of the opponent’s protection.
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