Mahabharata 7.21.19 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 19
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
हयान् ध्वजं धनुर्मष्टिमुभी च पार्ष्णिसारथी । अवाकिरत् ततो द्रोण: शरवर्षै: सहस्रश:,द्रोणने सत्यजित॒के घोड़ों, ध्वज, धनुषकी मुष्टि तथा दोनों पार्श्वरक्षकोंपर सहस्रों बाणोंकी वर्षा की
sañjaya uvāca | hayān dhvajaṃ dhanurmuṣṭim ubhī ca pārṣṇisārathī | avākirat tato droṇaḥ śaravarṣaiḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
संजय म्हणाला—त्यानंतर द्रोणाचार्यांनी सहस्रशः बाणवृष्टी करून घोडे, ध्वज, धनुष्याची मुष्टी तसेच दोन्ही पार्श्वरक्षक व सारथी यांना भेदले।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare often targets the supports of power—horses, banner, and attendants—showing strategic intelligence but also intensifying the moral strain of battle, where duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can slide into relentless destruction.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa unleashes a massive volley of arrows aimed not only at the warrior but at the chariot’s key components and personnel—horses, standard, bow-grip, and side attendants—seeking to disable and overwhelm the opponent’s fighting capacity.
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