Shloka 49
Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ
Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response
अभिनच्छरवर्षेण द्रोणानीकमनेकधा । तब दिव्यास्त्रोंके ज्ञाता यज्ञसेनकुमार शूरवीर महारथी धृष्टद्युम्नने अपने बाणोंकी वर्षासे द्रोणाचार्यकी सेनाको बारंबार घायल किया || ४८ $ ।। द्रोणस्य शरवर्षाणि शरवर्षेण पार्षत:
dronasya śaravarṣāṇi śaravarṣeṇa pārṣataḥ
अभिनच्छरवर्षेण द्रोणानीकमनेकधा; द्रोणस्य शरवर्षाणि शरवर्षेण पार्षतः प्रत्यवारयत्, शस्त्रकौशलं शस्त्रकौशलेन, धैर्यं धैर्येण प्रतिददर्श।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh symmetry of warfare: aggression is met by equal counterforce. It implicitly points to the ethical tension in kṣatriya-dharma—duty and prowess operate within a cycle of retaliation that multiplies harm even when performed as ‘duty’.
Sañjaya reports that Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata) counters Droṇa’s intense volleys of arrows with his own dense shower, effectively matching Droṇa’s attack and sustaining the fierce duel on the battlefield.