अर्द्यमानाः शरैर् एते रुक्मपुङ्खैर् महात्मना ॥
पथा नैकेन गच्छन्ति घूर्णमानास् ततस् ततः ॥
संनिरुद्धाश् च कौरव्यैर् द्रोणेन च महात्मना ॥
एते ऽन्ये मण्डलीभूताः पावकेनेव कुञ्जराः ॥
भ्रमरैर् इव चाविष्टा द्रोणस्य निशितैः शरैः ॥
अन्योन्यं समलीयन्त पलायनपरायणाः ॥
ardyamānāḥ śarair ete rukmapuṅkhair mahātmanā ||
pathā naikena gacchanti ghūrṇamānās tatas tataḥ ||
saṃniruddhāś ca kauravyair droṇena ca mahātmanā ||
ete 'nye maṇḍalībhūtāḥ pāvakeneva kuñjarāḥ ||
bhramarair iva cāviṣṭā droṇasya niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
anyonyaṃ samalīyanta palāyanaparāyaṇāḥ ||
"Being struck by the gold-feathered arrows of that great one, they wander not by a single road, reeling here and there. Hemmed in by the Kauravas and by the great Drona, others clustered into a circle, like elephants [ringed] by fire. Swarmed over, as if by bees, by Drona's sharp arrows, they pressed together, one to another, thinking only of flight."
f9326dee2363 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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Duryodhana paints the enemy's despair: they "press together, thinking only of flight," like elephants ringed by fire. But this image conceals another meaning, inaccessible to him: beings driven into a circle and pressed against a wall lose their fear and become most dangerous of all — despair breeds fury. It is significant that the one gloating sees only the weakness of the cornered, not perceiving the resolve ripening within them. The verse teaches that an enemy driven to the edge is not always broken — often he is only gathering strength before his last charge; that one whose paths of retreat are cut off is capable of a desperate valor unknown to him when free to choose; and that he is not wise who triumphs over one pressed against a wall, for it is there that the most dangerous courage is born — the courage of despair.