विराटस्य रथानीकं मत्स्यस्यामित्रघातिनः ॥
प्रेप्सन्तं समरे द्रोणं के वीराः पर्यवारयन् ॥
सद्यो वृकोदराज् जातो महाबलपराक्रमः ॥
मायावी राक्षसो घोरो यस्मान् मम महद् भयम् ॥
पार्थानां जयकामं तं पुत्राणां मम कण्टकम् ॥
घटोत्कचं महाबाहुं कस् तं द्रोणाद् अवारयत् ॥
virāṭasya rathānīkaṃ matsyasyāmitraghātinaḥ ||
prepsantaṃ samare droṇaṃ ke vīrāḥ paryavārayan ||
sadyo vṛkodarāj jāto mahābalaparākramaḥ ||
māyāvī rākṣaso ghoro yasmān mama mahad bhayam ||
pārthānāṃ jayakāmaṃ taṃ putrāṇāṃ mama kaṇṭakam ||
ghaṭotkacaṃ mahābāhuṃ kas taṃ droṇād avārayat ||
The chariot force of Virata, destroyer of enemies, lord of the Matsyas, rushing in battle toward Drona — what heroes held it back? And the one who came into being at once from Vrikodara [Bhima], of immense might and valor, a sorcerer, a dreadful rakshasa, from whom I feel great fear — yearning for the Pandavas' victory, a thorn in the side of my sons, the mighty-armed Ghatotkacha — who held him back from Drona?
609c78c0d3b8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra openly confesses: Ghatotkacha is the one 'from whom I feel great fear.' Son of Bhima and a rakshasi, born in an extraordinary way, he is formidable with a peculiar strength; and the fear that the father of an unjust cause feels before him is the fear of guilt before an inescapable reckoning. It is significant that even this mighty sorcerer 'yearns for the Pandavas' victory': even forces deemed dark come to stand on the side of truth once truth has been revealed. The verse teaches that guilt lives in constant fear of the reckoning to come, seeing a threat in every powerful opponent; that unexpected, extraordinary allies gather on the side of dharma; and that an oppressor's fear before the might of the defenders of righteousness foretells a just outcome.