मत्स्याञ् जित्वाजयच् चेदीन् कारूषान् केकयान् अपि ॥
पाञ्चालान् सृञ्जयान् पाण्डून् भारद्वाजः पुनः पुनः ॥
तं दहन्तम् अनीकानि क्रुद्धम् अग्निं यथा वनम् ॥
दृष्ट्वा रुक्मरथं क्रुद्धं समकम्पन्त सृञ्जयाः ॥
matsyāñ jitvājayac cedīn kārūṣān kekayān api ||
pāñcālān sṛñjayān pāṇḍūn bhāradvājaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
taṃ dahantam anīkāni kruddham agniṃ yathā vanam ||
dṛṣṭvā rukmarathaṃ kruddhaṃ samakampanta sṛñjayāḥ ||
Having conquered the Matsyas, the son of Bharadvaja kept conquering the Chedis, the Karushas and the Kekayas, the Panchalas, the Srinjayas and the sons of Pandu—again and again. Seeing him, on his golden chariot, enraged, consuming the ranks as fire consumes a forest, the Srinjayas trembled.
341deba8f9c9 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Drona is likened to a forest fire devouring the thicket: enraged might spreads unchecked, and whole peoples tremble at the mere sight of it. Fire here is an image not only of power but of blind, all-devouring wrath that does not distinguish whom it destroys. It is telling that trembling seizes the Srinjayas before any blow falls—the very sight of the enraged giant already breaks the spirit. The verse teaches that wrath kindled in a great man is as terrible as fire, and destroys the righteous and the unrighteous alike within its path; that fear sown by a fearsome appearance alone conquers before weapons do; and that one who tempers his own anger does well to remember how indiscriminately it devours everything in its way.