Mahabharata 7.21.27 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 27

द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping

Devanagari script

क्रूराय कर्मणे युक्तश्चिकीर्षु: कर्म दुष्करम्‌ । अवाकिरच्छरशतैर्भरद्वाजं महारथम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | krūrāya karmaṇe yuktaś cikīrṣuḥ karma duṣkaram | avākirac charaśatair bharadvājaṃ mahāratham | tatpaścāt ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Rồi, quyết làm một việc tàn khốc và mong lập nên kỳ công khó nhọc, chàng trút xuống vị đại xa chiến binh, con của Bharadvāja (Droṇa), một trận mưa trăm mũi tên.

Word by Word

• क्रूराय: for a cruel (act)
• क्रूराय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• कर्मणे: for the deed/action
• कर्मणे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• युक्तः: engaged/intent
• युक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चिकीर्षुः: wishing to do
• चिकीर्षुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिकीर्षु (कृ धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कर्म: a deed
• कर्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• दुष्करम्: difficult (to do)
• दुष्करम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्कर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अवाकिरत्: showered/covered (with)
• अवाकिरत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + कृ (किरति/कॄ)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शरशतैः: with hundreds of arrows
• शरशतैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर-शत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• भरद्वाजम्: Bharadvāja (Drona)
• भरद्वाजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरद्वाज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• महारथम्: the great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Bharadvāja’s son)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, intention (cikīrṣā) can turn action into a morally charged deed: the same martial skill becomes ethically weighty when directed toward a ‘cruel act’ (krūra karma), reminding readers to attend to motive and restraint even amid kṣatriya conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a warrior, intent on a harsh and difficult exploit, raining a hundred arrows upon Droṇa—identified by the epithet ‘Bharadvāja’s son’—as the battle intensifies.