आचार्य केन कालेन पाण्डुपुत्रस्य सैनिकान् ॥
निहन्या इति तं द्रोणः प्रत्युवाच हसन्न् इव ॥
स्थविरो ऽस्मि कुरुश्रेष्ठ मन्दप्राणविचेष्टितः ॥
अस्त्राग्निना निर्दहेयं पाण्डवानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
यथा भीष्मः शांतनवो मासेनेति मतिर् मम ॥
एषा मे परमा शक्तिर् एतन् मे परमं बलम् ॥
द्वाभ्याम् एव तु मासाभ्यां कृपः शारद्वतो ऽब्रवीत् ॥
द्रौणिस् तु दशरात्रेण प्रतिजज्ञे बलक्षयम् ॥
कर्णस् तु पञ्चरात्रेण प्रतिजज्ञे महास्त्रवित् ॥
तच् छ्रुत्वा सूतपुत्रस्य वाक्यं सागरगासुतः ॥
जहास सस्वनं हासं वाक्यं चेदम् उवाच ह ॥
ācārya kena kālena pāṇḍuputrasya sainikān ||
nihanyā iti taṃ droṇaḥ pratyuvāca hasann iva ||
sthaviro 'smi kuruśreṣṭha mandaprāṇaviceṣṭitaḥ ||
astrāgninā nirdaheyaṃ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm ||
yathā bhīṣmaḥ śāṃtanavo māseneti matir mama ||
eṣā me paramā śaktir etan me paramaṃ balam ||
dvābhyām eva tu māsābhyāṃ kṛpaḥ śāradvato 'bravīt ||
drauṇis tu daśarātreṇa pratijajñe balakṣayam ||
karṇas tu pañcarātreṇa pratijajñe mahāstravit ||
tac chrutvā sūtaputrasya vākyaṃ sāgaragāsutaḥ ||
jahāsa sasvanaṃ hāsaṃ vākyaṃ cedam uvāca ha ||
"O teacher, in what time would you destroy the warriors of the son of Pandu?" Drona answered him, as though smiling: "O best of the Kurus, I am old, and the movements of my vital strength have weakened. But with the fire of weapons I would burn up the Pandava army, as Bhishma, son of Shantanu, would: within a month. Such is my opinion. This is my supreme strength, this is my supreme might." Kripa, son of Sharadvan, said: "Within two months." Drona's son promised to destroy the army within ten nights, and Karna, versed in the great weapons, promised this within five nights. Hearing the words of the charioteer's son, the son of Ganga who flows to the ocean laughed loudly and spoke these words.
ae5bd8564549 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:41:26 AM UTC
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This chapter returns the conversation to a military assessment of strength before the battle. Duryodhana wants to measure the Pandava army in number of days, but the answers of the senior warriors reveal differing measures of realism and self-confidence. Bhishma speaks as a commander bound by the dharma of battle: an honest fight against an honest foe, a deceitful one against a deceiver. Drona admits his age but not any loss of strength. Karna, meanwhile, promises the impossible -- before he has met Arjuna and Krishna -- and Bhishma's laughter exposes the gap between boasting and true battle knowledge.