संजय उवाच
तथा द्रोणम् अभिघ्नन्तं साश्वसूतरथद्विपान् ॥
व्यथिताः पाण्डवा दृष्ट्वा न चैनं पर्यवारयन् ॥
ततो युधिष्ठिरो राजा धृष्टद्युम्नधनंजयौ ॥
अब्रवीत् सर्वतो यत्तैः कुम्भयोनिर् निवार्यताम् ॥
तत्रैनम् अर्जुनश् चैव पार्षतश् च सहानुगः ॥
पर्यगृह्णंस् ततः सर्वे समायान्तं महारथाः ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tathā droṇam abhighnantaṃ sāśvasūtarathadvipān ||
vyathitāḥ pāṇḍavā dṛṣṭvā na cainaṃ paryavārayan ||
tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā dhṛṣṭadyumnadhanaṃjayau ||
abravīt sarvato yattaiḥ kumbhayonir nivāryatām ||
tatrainam arjunaś caiva pārṣataś ca sahānugaḥ ||
paryagṛhṇaṃs tataḥ sarve samāyāntaṃ mahārathāḥ ||
Seeing Drona thus smiting down [warriors] together with horses, charioteers, chariots and elephants, the shaken Pandavas were unable to surround him. Then King Yudhishthira said to Dhrishtadyumna and Dhananjaya [Arjuna]: "Let the pitcher-born one [Drona] be checked from all sides by [warriors] standing ready." Then Arjuna and Parshata [Dhrishtadyumna] with [his] followers, and all the great chariot-warriors, surrounded him as he advanced.
5a032545bf4c · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Drona alone is enough to shake the whole army of the Pandavas — and Yudhishthira calls for him to be checked "from all sides": against one teacher many are arrayed, an admission of his matchless might. Telling is the name "pitcher-born" (kumbhayoni): even at the hour of his fearsome onslaught the tale recalls the sage's wondrous birth, reminding us that before us stands no ordinary warrior but a man of extraordinary destiny. The verse teaches that even against the greatest strength, salvation lies not in single combat but in the united resistance of many; and that valor acknowledged as so formidable, even by enemies, that an entire army is arrayed against it, is genuine — though turned, alas, to an unrighteous cause.