Shloka 46

Devanagari script

ततो द्रोणो महाराज पार्षतस्य महद्‌ धनु: । छित्त्वा पज्चाशतेषूणां पार्षते समविध्यत,महाराज! तत्पश्चात्‌ द्रोणाचार्यने धृष्ट्युम्मके विशाल धनुषको काटकर पचास बाणोंद्वारा उन्हें बीध डाला

Transliteration

tato droṇo mahārāja pārṣatasya mahad dhanuḥ | chittvā pañcāśateṣūṇāṃ pārṣate samavidhyat ||

Translation

ఆపై, మహారాజా, ద్రోణుడు పార్షతపుత్రుడు ధృష్టద్యుమ్నుని విశాల ధనుస్సును కోసివేసి, తరువాత యాభై బాణాలతో అతనిని బలంగా గుచ్చాడు.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

द्रोणःDrona

महाराजO great king

पार्षतस्यof the son of Prishata (Dhrishtadyumna)

महत्great, huge

धनुःbow

छित्त्वाhaving cut (having severed)

पञ्चाशतof fifty

इषूणाम्of arrows

पार्षतेin/at the son of Prishata (on Dhrishtadyumna)

समविध्यत्pierced, struck

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇa

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata)

bow

arrows

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of first neutralizing an opponent’s capacity to fight (cutting the bow) and then striking—illustrating how kṣatriya-duty and tactical necessity can override personal sentiment, even as it raises ethical tension about proportionality and compassion in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa severs Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s bow and then wounds him with fifty arrows, marking a decisive moment of domination in their combat during the Kurukṣetra war.