न ह्य् अन्यं परिपश्यामि वधे कं चन शुष्मिणः ॥
धृष्टद्युम्नाद् ऋते रौद्रात् पाल्यमानात् किरीटिना ॥
तैर् वृतः सर्वतः शूरैः पाञ्चाल्यापसदस् ततः ॥
केकयैश् चेदिकारूषैर् मत्स्यैर् अन्यैश् च भूमिपैः ॥
व्याकुलीकृतम् आचार्यं पिपीलैर् उरगं यथा ॥
कर्मण्य् असुकरे सक्तं जघानेति मतिर् मम ॥
na hy anyaṃ paripaśyāmi vadhe kaṃ cana śuṣmiṇaḥ ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnād ṛte raudrāt pālyamānāt kirīṭinā ||
tair vṛtaḥ sarvataḥ śūraiḥ pāñcālyāpasadas tataḥ ||
kekayaiś cedikārūṣair matsyair anyaiś ca bhūmipaiḥ ||
vyākulīkṛtam ācāryaṃ pipīlair uragaṃ yathā ||
karmaṇy asukare saktaṃ jaghāneti matir mama ||
Truly I see no one else able to slay the fierce one [Drona], except the ferocious Dhrishtadyumna, protected by the Crowned One [Arjuna]. Surrounded on every side by those heroes — Dhrishtadyumna, the disgrace of Panchala, then the Kekayas, the Chedis and Karushas, the Matsyas, and other kings — the teacher, beset from every side like a serpent by ants, engrossed in a task unbearable for others, was slain [by him]; such is my conviction.
1d285cf6c240 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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The image of a serpent covered with ants is terrible and exact: even the greatest perishes when a multitude falls upon one. In the bitter phrase "disgrace of Panchala" bursts forth a father's hatred for the slayer of his son and teacher; yet the picture itself — Drona "engrossed in an unbearable task," surrounded on every side — involuntarily reveals that he fell not through the superiority of one man but through the concerted assault of many. The verse teaches that even the unconquerable in single combat is vulnerable before a multitude; that reproach born of grief does not cancel the truth of how it all happened; and that the death of a great man at many hands is a reminder: no strength is invulnerable before a concerted multitude — except that which is protected from above.