ज्वालावर्णो देवदत्तो धनुष्मान् कवची शरी ॥
मर्त्यधर्मतया तस्माद् इति मां भयम् आविशत् ॥
गतो हि पक्षतां तेषां पार्षतः पुरुषर्षभः ॥
सृष्टप्राणो भृशतरं तस्माद् योत्स्ये तवारिभिः ॥
मद्वधाय श्रुतो ह्य् एष लोके चाप्य् अतिविश्रुतः ॥
नूनं सो ऽयम् अनुप्राप्तस् त्वत्कृते कालपर्ययः ॥
त्वरिताः कुरुत श्रेयो नैतद् एतावता कृतम् ॥
मुहूर्तं सुखम् एवैतत् तालच्छायेव हैमनी ॥
यजध्वं च महायज्ञैर् भोगान् अश्नीत दत्त च ॥
इतश् चतुर्दशे वर्षे महत् प्राप्स्यथ वैशसम् ॥
दुर्योधन निशम्यैतत् प्रतिपद्य यथेच्छसि ॥
साम वा पाण्डवेयेषु प्रयुङ्क्ष्व यदि मन्यसे ॥
jvālāvarṇo devadatto dhanuṣmān kavacī śarī ||
martyadharmatayā tasmād iti māṃ bhayam āviśat ||
gato hi pakṣatāṃ teṣāṃ pārṣataḥ puruṣarṣabhaḥ ||
sṛṣṭaprāṇo bhṛśataraṃ tasmād yotsye tavāribhiḥ ||
madvadhāya śruto hy eṣa loke cāpy ativiśrutaḥ ||
nūnaṃ so 'yam anuprāptas tvatkṛte kālaparyayaḥ ||
tvaritāḥ kuruta śreyo naitad etāvatā kṛtam ||
muhūrtaṃ sukham evaitat tālacchāyeva haimanī ||
yajadhvaṃ ca mahāyajñair bhogān aśnīta datta ca ||
itaś caturdaśe varṣe mahat prāpsyatha vaiśasam ||
duryodhana niśamyaitat pratipadya yathecchasi ||
sāma vā pāṇḍaveyeṣu prayuṅkṣva yadi manyase ||
[Drona:] 'Flame-colored Devadatta, bowman, in armor, with arrows; because of him, by my mortal nature, fear has entered into me. For to the side of the Pandavas has passed the Parshata, the bull among men, his life laid down; therefore all the more fiercely will I fight your enemies. He is said to be born for my slaying and is greatly renowned in the world; surely this reversal of time has come about because of you. Hasten to do good: not everything is accomplished by this alone; this happiness is but for a moment, like a wintry shadow of a palm tree. Perform great sacrifices, enjoy pleasures, and give gifts; in the fourteenth year from now you will meet a great slaughter. O Duryodhana, having heard this, act as you wish; or, if you think it fitting, apply reconciliation toward the Pandavas.'
3108daf4d96e · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:17:50 PM UTC
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Drona teaches the fleetingness of triumph: 'this happiness is but for a moment, like a wintry shadow of a palm tree' — a brief, meager shadow, an image of the illusory joy of unrighteous success. Knowing his own fate, he still counsels not evil but good: to sacrifice, to give, to enjoy worthily, for the time allotted is short. And, foreseeing the slaughter, he points to a way out — reconciliation: even one who foresees ruin does not take from the guilty their last chance to avert it. The verse teaches that the joys of unrighteous triumph are as brief and deceptive as a wintry shadow; that the wise, even among the doomed, still call to goodness and generosity in the time remaining; and that the path to salvation — reconciliation — remains open until the very end, and only persistence in evil closes it.