हेमोत्तमप्रतिच्छन्नैर् हयैर् वातसमैर् जवे ॥
अभ्यवर्तन्त सैन्यानि सर्वाण्य् एव युधिष्ठिरम् ॥
राज्ञस् त्व् अनन्तरं राजा पाञ्चाल्यो द्रुपदो ऽभवत् ॥
जातरूपमयच्छत्रः सर्वैः स्वैर् अभिरक्षितः ॥
ललामैर् हरिभिर् युक्तैः सर्वशब्दक्षमैर् युधि ॥
राज्ञां मध्ये महेष्वासः शान्तभीर् अभ्यवर्तत ॥
hemottamapraticchannair hayair vātasamair jave ||
abhyavartanta sainyāni sarvāṇy eva yudhiṣṭhiram ||
rājñas tv anantaraṃ rājā pāñcālyo drupado 'bhavat ||
jātarūpamayacchatraḥ sarvaiḥ svair abhirakṣitaḥ ||
lalāmair haribhir yuktaiḥ sarvaśabdakṣamair yudhi ||
rājñāṃ madhye maheṣvāsaḥ śāntabhīr abhyavartata ||
On horses caparisoned in finest gold, equal to the wind in speed, all the hosts advanced around Yudhishthira. Right behind the king came king Drupada of the Panchalas, under a golden parasol, protected by all his own. On chestnut horses marked with markings, yoked, unstartled by any noise in battle, among the kings advanced the great archer, the man in whom fear had gone still.
7878d3133fbe · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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Amid the golden gleam of horses and parasols, a special note is made of Drupada: "the man in whom fear had gone still." It is not the splendor of his adornment that makes him great, but an inward stillness -- a fearlessness born not of the absence of danger but of fear mastered within. It is also telling that the horses "are not startled by any noise" -- steadiness passes from the rider even to the horse, and, in turn, a dependable horse becomes the rider's support. The verse teaches that true greatness lies not in outward gold but in inward dauntlessness; that fear subdued is firmer than fear never known; and that in the hour of battle, dearer than any adornment is calm firmness of spirit, unshaken amid noise and turmoil, on which both the man and all around him stand.