उत्तमं ह्य् आदधानस्य धनुर् अस्याशुकारिणः ॥
ज्याघोषो निघ्नतो ऽमित्रान् दिक्षु सर्वासु शुश्रुवे ॥
नागान् अश्वान् पदातींश् च रथिनो गजसादिनः ॥
रौद्रा हस्तवता मुक्ताः प्रमथ्नन्ति स्म सायकाः ॥
नानद्यमानः पर्जन्यो मिश्रवातो हिमात्यये ॥
अश्मवर्षम् इवावर्षत् परेषां भयम् आदधत् ॥
uttamaṃ hy ādadhānasya dhanur asyāśukāriṇaḥ ||
jyāghoṣo nighnato 'mitrān dikṣu sarvāsu śuśruve ||
nāgān aśvān padātīṃś ca rathino gajasādinaḥ ||
raudrā hastavatā muktāḥ pramathnanti sma sāyakāḥ ||
nānadyamānaḥ parjanyo miśravāto himātyaye ||
aśmavarṣam ivāvarṣat pareṣāṃ bhayam ādadhat ||
As he, swift at his work, fitted an arrow to his excellent bow, striking down the enemy, the twang of his bowstring was heard in every quarter. Fierce arrows, loosed by a skilled hand, shattered elephants, horses, foot-soldiers, charioteers and elephant-riders. As a thundering storm-cloud, borne on a gale at winter's end, pours down a hail of stones, so did he shower [arrows] upon the enemy, instilling fear.
2a79a7e3d939 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
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The mere twang of Drona's bowstring carries 'to every quarter'—such is his mastery that his very presence is heard everywhere and sows fear before the arrow arrives. The image of the thundering storm-cloud with its hail of stones conveys a force that falls, equally and inescapably, like a force of nature. It is telling that fear is named as the direct fruit of his action: the weapon strikes bodies, but the terrible sound strikes the spirit first. The verse teaches that true mastery announces itself before the blow—by its mere appearance; that fear sown in an enemy's heart is already half the victory; and that a force acting like an implacable element is terrible precisely because there is no hiding from it, as there is no hiding from hail under an open sky.