पाञ्चालांश् चैव तान् सर्वान् बाणैः संनतपर्वभिः ॥
व्यद्रावयद् अमेयात्मा शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
ततः प्रविव्यथे सेना पाण्डवी भरतर्षभ ॥
दृष्ट्वा द्रौणेर् महत् कर्म वासवस्येव संयुगे ॥
शतेन च शतं हत्वा पाञ्चालानां महारथः ॥
त्रिभिश् च निशितैर् बाणैर् हत्वा त्रीन् वै महारथान् ॥
द्रौणिर् द्रुपदपुत्रस्य फल्गुनस्य च पश्यतः ॥
नाशयाम् आस पाञ्चालान् भूयिष्ठं ये व्यवस्थिताः ॥
pāñcālāṃś caiva tān sarvān bāṇaiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
vyadrāvayad ameyātmā śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
tataḥ pravivyathe senā pāṇḍavī bharatarṣabha ||
dṛṣṭvā drauṇer mahat karma vāsavasyeva saṃyuge ||
śatena ca śataṃ hatvā pāñcālānāṃ mahārathaḥ ||
tribhiś ca niśitair bāṇair hatvā trīn vai mahārathān ||
drauṇir drupadaputrasya phalgunasya ca paśyataḥ ||
nāśayām āsa pāñcālān bhūyiṣṭhaṃ ye vyavasthitāḥ ||
And all those Panchalas he, of immeasurable spirit, put to flight with arrows of smooth joints, by hundreds and thousands. Then the army of the Pandavas trembled, O bull among the Bharatas, seeing the great deed of Drauni — like the deed of Vasava in battle. And having struck down a hundred Panchalas with a hundred arrows, the maharatha, and three maharathas with three sharp arrows, Drauni, before the eyes of Drupada's son and of Phalguna, destroyed the Panchalas — the greater part of those who stood there.
5a5e6d3b9ce6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Ashvatthaman destroys the Panchalas before the eyes of Arjuna and Dhrishtadyumna, as Indra destroys his foes -- the summit of his night-valor. It is telling that the army of the Pandavas "trembled" at the sight of his deed. The verse teaches that the valor of one man can shake an entire army; but this shaking lasts only an hour -- for behind those who perish stands a rightness that even the greatest slaughter cannot break.