Shloka 70

Devanagari script

कीर्यमाणे तदा द्रोणे शरैगाण्डीवधन्वना । हाहाकारो महानासीत्‌ सैन्यानां भरतर्षभ,तत्पश्चात्‌ एक ही साथ झुकी हुई गाँठवाले एक लाख बाण द्रोणाचार्यके रथके समीप आ गिरे। जनमेजय! गाण्डीवधन्वा अर्जुनके द्वारा जब द्रोणपर इस प्रकार बाणवर्षा होने लगी, तब कौरव-सैनिकोंमें भारी हाहाकार मच गया

Transliteration

kīryamāṇe tadā droṇe śaraiḥ gāṇḍīvadhanvanā | hāhākāro mahān āsīt sainyānāṃ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Khi Droṇa bị người cầm cung Gāṇḍīva trút mưa tên phủ kín, trong quân ngũ vang lên tiếng kêu la dữ dội, hỡi bậc tráng sĩ của dòng Bharata.

Word by Word

कीर्यमाणेwhile being scattered/poured (upon)

तदाthen

द्रोणेon/at Droṇa (Dronacharya)

शरैःwith arrows

गाण्डीवधन्वनाby the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna)

हाहाकारःa great outcry

महान्great

आसीत्was

सैन्यानाम्of the armies/soldiers

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Arjuna (Gāṇḍīvadhanvan)

Gāṇḍīva

Kaurava soldiers (sainyāni)

Janamejaya (implied by bharatarṣabha address)

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 how swiftly the balance of power and morale shifts in war: disciplined skill can overwhelm even a famed warrior, and collective fear spreads when leadership appears threatened—an ethical reminder of war’s destabilizing force on minds and armies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna, identified as the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva, rains arrows upon Droṇa; seeing Droṇa pressed hard, the Kaurava troops erupt in a loud cry of alarm and confusion.