Mahabharata — Karna Parva, Shloka 4
शस्त्राण्येषां तु राजेन्द्र शोणिताक्तानि सर्वश: । प्राभ्रश्यन्त कराग्रेभ्यो दृष्टवा द्रोणं हतं युधि
śastrāṇy eṣāṃ tu rājendra śoṇitāktāni sarvaśaḥ | prābhraśyanta karāgrebhyo dṛṣṭvā droṇaṃ hataṃ yudhi ||
سنجے نے کہا—اے راجندر! میدانِ جنگ میں درون کے مارے جانے کو دیکھ کر، خون میں لتھڑے اُن جنگجوؤں کے ہتھیار سب کے سب اُن کے ہاتھوں سے پھسل کر گر پڑے۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological collapse that can follow the fall of a revered teacher and commander: even battle-hardened warriors lose composure, showing how attachment, authority, and the perceived order of dharma in war can be shaken by a single death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, upon seeing Droṇa slain on the battlefield, the warriors’ blood-smeared weapons slipped from their grasp—an image of stunned disbelief and sudden demoralization in the midst of combat.