ततो व्यूढान्य् अनीकानि तव तेषां च भारत ॥
शनैर् उपेयुर् अन्योन्यं योत्स्यमानानि संयुगे ॥
ततः प्रववृते युद्धं तुमुलं लोमहर्षणम् ॥
पाण्डवानां कुरूणां च द्रोणपाञ्चाल्ययोर् अपि ॥
यतमानाः प्रयत्नेन द्रोणानीकविशातने ॥
न शेकुः सृञ्जया राजंस् तद् धि द्रोणेन पालितम् ॥
tato vyūḍhāny anīkāni tava teṣāṃ ca bhārata ||
śanair upeyur anyonyaṃ yotsyamānāni saṃyuge ||
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ tumulaṃ lomaharṣaṇam ||
pāṇḍavānāṃ kurūṇāṃ ca droṇapāñcālyayor api ||
yatamānāḥ prayatnena droṇānīkaviśātane ||
na śekuḥ sṛñjayā rājaṃs tad dhi droṇena pālitam ||
Then your arrayed troops and theirs, O Bharata, slowly drew near one another, ready to fight in the coming fray. Then the battle began, tumultuous and hair-raising — between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, and between Drona and the Panchala prince [Dhrishtadyumna]. However hard the Srinjayas strove with all their strength to break up Drona's army, O king, they could not: for it was guarded by Drona himself.
cfabdf5fa7de · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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The very confrontation of Drona and Dhrishtadyumna — the teacher and the one born for his destruction — is singled out by the narrative: fate has brought face to face the one who strikes and the one destined to be struck down. The Srinjayas are powerless to break through the host "guarded by Drona": where the incomparable one stands, the formation is unbreakable. The verse teaches that one great defender makes an army impregnable, just as one great destroyer makes it formidable; that the appointed meetings of fate converge on their own in their appointed hour; and that the strength of defense, like the strength of onslaught, rests for a time upon a single man — until his hour comes.