Shloka 41
ब्रह्मास्त्र प्रकट करते हुए नरश्रेष्ठ द्रोणने सैकड़ों और हजारों भल्लोंद्वारा शत्रु-सैनिकोंका संहार कर डाला ।। पाण्डवा: केकया मत्स्या: पञ्चालाश्न विशेषत: । संख्ये द्रोणरथं प्राप्पय व्यनशन् कालचोदिता:,पाण्डव, केकय, मत्स्य तथा विशेषतः पांचाल योद्धा कालसे प्रेरित हो युद्धमें द्रोणाचार्यके रथके पास आकर नष्ट हो गये
brahmāstraṁ prakaṭaṁ kurvan naraśreṣṭho droṇo bhallaiḥ śataśasahasraśaḥ śatru-sainikān saṅkhyē jaghāna || pāṇḍavāḥ kekayā matsyāḥ pañcālāś ca viśeṣataḥ | saṅkhyē droṇa-rathaṁ prāpya vyanāśan kāla-coditāḥ ||
ब्रह्मास्त्रं विकुर्वाणो द्रोणो नरवरः समरे । भल्लैः शतसहस्रैस्तु शत्रुसैन्यं व्यनाशयत् ॥ पाण्डवाः केकया मत्स्याः पञ्चालाश्च विशेषतः । संख्ये द्रोणरथं प्राप्य व्यनशन् कालचोदिताः ॥
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: even extraordinary skill and divine weaponry operate within the larger sovereignty of Kāla (Time/Fate). Heroism and alliance do not guarantee safety; when the course of events ripens, warriors—however noble—are swept toward destruction, reminding readers of the war’s tragic inevitability and the limits of human control.
Kṛpa narrates Droṇa’s battlefield dominance: Droṇa deploys the Brahmāstra and, with immense volleys of arrows, annihilates enemy troops. Pāṇḍava-aligned forces—Pāṇḍavas, Kekayas, Matsyas, and especially Pañcālas—rush toward Droṇa’s chariot in combat but are slain, described as being driven by Kāla.