Shloka 40
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय १) — भीष्मनिधनानन्तरं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः, सेनायाः स्थितिः, कर्णस्मरणं च
Droṇa Parva, Chapter 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief after Bhīṣma’s fall and the army’s reorientation toward Karṇa
पाण्डवैर्वा हते भीष्मे त्वयि स्वर्गमुपेयुषि । हन्तास्म्येकरथेनैव कृत्स्नान् यान् मन्यसे रथान्,“अथवा यदि पाण्डवोंके द्वारा मारे जाकर आप स्वर्गलोकमें पहुँच गये तो मैं एकमात्र रथकी सहायतासे उन सबको मार डालूँगा, जिन्हें आप रथी मानते हैं!
pāṇḍavair vā hate bhīṣme tvayi svargam upeyuṣi | hantāsmy ekarathenaiva kṛtsnān yān manyase rathān ||
సంజయుడు పలికెను—‘లేదా పాండవుల చేత భీష్ముడు హతుడై, మీరు స్వర్గానికి చేరితే, నేను ఒక్క రథం సహాయంతోనే మీరు రథులని భావించే వారందరినీ సంహరిస్తాను.’
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and overconfidence can arise amid crisis: the speaker claims he can single-handedly destroy all ‘great chariot-warriors’ if senior leaders fall. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between heroic self-image and the grim reality that war magnifies delusion, escalation, and moral blindness.
In the opening of Droṇa Parva, Sañjaya reports a forceful declaration: if Bhīṣma is killed by the Pāṇḍavas and the addressed leader goes to heaven (i.e., dies), the speaker vows to continue the fight alone with a single chariot, claiming he will kill all those the leader counts as foremost chariot-warriors.