संजय उवाच
ततः स पाण्डवानीके जनयंस् तुमुलं महत् ॥
व्यचरत् पाण्डवान् द्रोणो दहन् कक्षम् इवानलः ॥
निर्दहन्तम् अनीकानि साक्षाद् अग्निम् इवोत्थितम् ॥
दृष्ट्वा रुक्मरथं युद्धे समकम्पन्त सृञ्जयाः ॥
प्रततं चास्यमानस्य धनुषो ऽस्याशुकारिणः ॥
ज्याघोषः श्रूयते ऽत्यर्थं विस्फूर्जितम् इवाशनेः ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tataḥ sa pāṇḍavānīke janayaṃs tumulaṃ mahat ||
vyacarat pāṇḍavān droṇo dahan kakṣam ivānalaḥ ||
nirdahantam anīkāni sākṣād agnim ivotthitam ||
dṛṣṭvā rukmarathaṃ yuddhe samakampanta sṛñjayāḥ ||
pratataṃ cāsyamānasya dhanuṣo 'syāśukāriṇaḥ ||
jyāghoṣaḥ śrūyate 'tyarthaṃ visphūrjitam ivāśaneḥ ||
Then he [Drona], sowing great tumult in the army of the Pandavas, coursed among the sons of Pandu like fire scorching brushwood. Seeing in battle the golden-charioted one [Drona], incinerating the ranks as though a flame had visibly sprung up, the Srinjayas trembled. And the twang of his bow, tirelessly loosing its arrows, swift and unwearied, resounded deafeningly, like the rumbling of a thunderbolt.
7d80e7c7a359 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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Drona is likened to fire scorching dry grass: fearsome is the teacher who has turned knowledge into an instrument of destruction, and before him the host scatters like tinder before a blaze. But the image of fire is double-edged: flame devours, yet also dies out once its fuel is spent — and Drona's terror, for all its brilliance, is not eternal. The twang of his bow, like a peal of thunder, strikes dread before the blow itself falls: fear precedes defeat. The verse teaches that even the mightiest power of destruction is like fire — fearsome, yet fleeting; that wisdom turned to slaughter is a sorrowful sight; and that an army that trembles at a mere roar is already defeated in spirit.