Shloka 54
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
चेकितानो धृष्टकेतुर्युयुत्सुश्चार्दयन् द्विपम् । त एन॑ शरधाराभिर्धाराभिरिव तोयदा:
cekitāno dhṛṣṭaketur yuyutsuś cārdayan dvipam | te enaṁ śaradhārābhir dhārābhir iva toyadāḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—चेकितानो धृष्टकेतुर्युयुत्सुश्च द्विपं समन्तादर्दयन्। ते तमेकं शरधाराभिर्धाराभिरिव तोयदा अविच्छिन्नाभिरभ्यवर्षन्॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores steadfastness in one’s appointed duty amid chaos: disciplined, collective effort in battle is portrayed through the ethical frame of kṣatriya-dharma, using a vivid simile to show unwavering resolve rather than cruelty for its own sake.
Sañjaya reports that Cekitāna, Dhṛṣṭaketu, and Yuyutsu jointly assail an elephant, striking it with dense, continuous volleys of arrows, compared to rain-clouds releasing torrents.