Shloka 16
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
युद्धस्थलमें अत्यन्त बलवान् नरेशोंको सारथि, रथ और हाथियोंसहित शत्रुओंद्वारा मारा गया देखकर भी महान् अस्त्रवेत्ता ब्राह्मणशिरोमणि आचार्य द्रोणने रणभूमिमें समस्त शत्रुओंका वध क्यों नहीं कर डाला? ।।
yuddhasthale atyanta-balavān nareśān sārathi-ratha-hasti-sahitān śatrubhir māritān dṛṣṭvāpi mahān astravettā brāhmaṇa-śiromaṇir ācāryo droṇo raṇabhūmau samastān śatrūn kathaṁ na vyapātayat? sa saṁsmaran droṇam ahaṁ mahāhave bravīmi satyaṁ kuravo nibodhata | na vā mad-anyaḥ prasahed raṇe 'rjunam samāgataṁ mṛtyum ivogra-rūpiṇam ||
三阇耶说道：即便在战场上亲眼见到那些极其强大的诸王——连同他们的御者、战车与战象——都被敌军所杀而倒下，为何那位通晓无上兵器的大师、婆罗门中的明珠——德罗那阿阇黎——却没有在阵地上歼灭一切敌人？追念在那场大决战中战死的德罗那，我说的是真话——噢，俱卢诸人，请专心聆听：除我之外，无人能在战斗中承受阿周那。待他推进之时，便如死神亲临，形貌可怖。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, almost inevitable force of a supreme warrior in war: Arjuna’s advance is portrayed as ‘Death’ itself, suggesting that even great masters like Drona were constrained—by circumstance, strategy, and the limits of human agency—despite their skill.
Sanjaya addresses the Kauravas, reflecting on Drona’s fall and responding to the implied question of why Drona did not annihilate all enemies. He asserts that Arjuna’s battlefield momentum is so terrifying that virtually no one can withstand him.