Mahabharata 7.21.51 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 51

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

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिरो द्वादशभिद्रोणं विव्याध सायकै: । धष्टय्युम्नश्व॒ दशभिश्लेकितानस्त्रिभि: शरै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | yudhiṣṭhiro dvādaśabhir droṇaṃ vivyādha sāyakaiḥ | dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca daśabhiś cekitānas tribhiḥ śaraiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Yudhiṣṭhira bắn Droṇācārya mười hai mũi tên. Dhṛṣṭadyumna đâm xuyên ông bằng mười mũi, và Cekitāna bằng ba. Cảnh tượng ấy nhấn mạnh đà nghiệt ngã của chiến tranh: nhiều dũng sĩ chính nghĩa và lừng danh cùng dồn vào một bậc thầy võ nghệ, và ngay cả người thầy đáng tôn kính cũng trở thành mục tiêu khi đòi hỏi của chiến trận và lòng trung thành phe phái lấn át sự kính trọng riêng tư.

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• द्वादशभिः: with twelve
• द्वादशभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• द्रोणम्: Droṇa
• द्रोणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सायकैः: with arrows
• सायकैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायक
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• चेकितानः: Cekitāna
• चेकितानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेकितान
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Droṇa (Droṇācārya)
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Cekitāna
• arrows (sāyaka/śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a dharmic framework, war forces painful collisions of obligations: respect for a teacher and the necessity to oppose him when he stands with the enemy. The verse highlights how allegiance and battlefield duty can compel actions that would otherwise be morally unthinkable in peacetime.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that multiple Pāṇḍava-side warriors concentrate their attack on Droṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira hits him with twelve arrows, Dhṛṣṭadyumna with ten, and Cekitāna with three, wounding the great commander amid the ongoing battle.