संगृह्यमाणां तां दृष्ट्वा पाण्डवैर् वाहिनीं रणे ॥
व्यावृत्य चक्षुषी कोपाद् भारद्वाजो ऽन्ववैक्षत ॥
स तीव्रं कोपम् आस्थाय रथे समरदुर्मदः ॥
व्यधमत् पाण्डवानीकम् अभ्राणीव सदागतिः ॥
रथान् अश्वान् नरान् नागान् अभिधावंस् ततस् ततः ॥
चचारोन्मत्तवद् द्रोणो वृद्धो ऽपि तरुणो यथा ॥
saṃgṛhyamāṇāṃ tāṃ dṛṣṭvā pāṇḍavair vāhinīṃ raṇe ||
vyāvṛtya cakṣuṣī kopād bhāradvājo 'nvavaikṣata ||
sa tīvraṃ kopam āsthāya rathe samaradurmadaḥ ||
vyadhamat pāṇḍavānīkam abhrāṇīva sadāgatiḥ ||
rathān aśvān narān nāgān abhidhāvaṃs tatas tataḥ ||
cacāronmattavad droṇo vṛddho 'pi taruṇo yathā ||
Seeing his army being rallied once more by the Pandavas in battle, Bharadvaja [Drona], turning his eyes in fury, surveyed them. Seized by fierce anger, frenzied in battle, [standing] on his chariot, he scattered the army of the Pandavas as the ever-moving wind scatters clouds. Charging here and there at chariots, horses, men and elephants, Drona ranged as if possessed — old, yet as though a youth.
e2c90ba62051 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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The elder, in whom wisdom dwelt, now "ranges as if possessed," made young again by battle's fury: rage and combat restore ardor to the body but strip the gray wisdom from the spirit. It is bitter to see the teacher of dharma driven mad in the fray — an image of how war corrupts even the best, turning knowledge into an instrument of slaughter. The comparison to the wind sweeping clouds shows the irresistibility of his onslaught; but wind does not create, it only scatters. The verse teaches that fury can restore youthful strength to the body but cannot restore the wisdom squandered in it; and that the sight of a sage seized by battle-madness is a sorrowful witness to what unrighteous war makes of a man.