तथैव तव पुत्रस्य रथोदाराः प्रहारिणः ॥
न शेकुः पाण्डवीं सेनां पाल्यमानां किरीटिना ॥
आस्तां ते स्तिमिते सेने रक्ष्यमाणे परस्परम् ॥
संप्रसुप्ते यथा नक्तं वनराज्यौ सुपुष्पिते ॥
ततो रुक्मरथो राजन्न् अर्केणेव विराजता ॥
वरूथिना विनिष्पत्य व्यचरत् पृतनान्तरे ॥
तम् उद्यतं रथेनैकम् आशुकारिणम् आहवे ॥
अनेकम् इव संत्रासान् मेनिरे पाण्डुसृञ्जयाः ॥
tathaiva tava putrasya rathodārāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
na śekuḥ pāṇḍavīṃ senāṃ pālyamānāṃ kirīṭinā ||
āstāṃ te stimite sene rakṣyamāṇe parasparam ||
saṃprasupte yathā naktaṃ vanarājyau supuṣpite ||
tato rukmaratho rājann arkeṇeva virājatā ||
varūthinā viniṣpatya vyacarat pṛtanāntare ||
tam udyataṃ rathenaikam āśukāriṇam āhave ||
anekam iva saṃtrāsān menire pāṇḍusṛñjayāḥ ||
Likewise your son's noble chariot-warriors, those dealers of blows, could not [overcome] the Pandava army guarded by the Diademed one [Arjuna]. The two armies stood motionless, guarded one from the other, like two richly blossoming stretches of woodland sunk in sleep at night. Then the gold-charioted one [Drona], O king, shining like the sun, having burst forth on his protected chariot, ranged about in the midst of the battle. Him alone, charging on his chariot, swift in battle, the Pandavas and Srinjayas, out of sheer terror, imagined as many.
6c763fec67e3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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The image of two motionless armies, like two flowering groves asleep in the night, wondrously contradicts the fury of war: for a moment the slaughter freezes in a balance of equal forces, and in this lull there is a beauty that sets off the horror. But the balance rests on two guardians: Drona and Arjuna; let one of them break loose, and fear multiplies him in the eyes of the enemy. Thus terror breeds phantoms: one fearsome warrior is seen as many. The verse teaches that a balance of forces breeds a deceptive calm; that one great warrior, driven by the enemy's fear, seems like a multitude; and that fear distorts vision, magnifying the threat — and that firmness of spirit is therefore the first defense against defeat.