ते ययुर् भीमसेनस्य समीपम् अमितौजसः ॥
युयुधानप्रभृतयो माद्रीपुत्रौ च पाण्डवौ ॥
ते समेत्य सुसंरब्धाः सहिताः पुरुषर्षभाः ॥
महेष्वासवरैर् गुप्तं द्रोणानीकं बिभित्सवः ॥
समापेतुर् महावीर्या भीमप्रभृतयो रथाः ॥
तान् प्रत्यगृह्णाद् अव्यग्रो द्रोणो ऽपि रथिनां वरः ॥
te yayur bhīmasenasya samīpam amitaujasaḥ ||
yuyudhānaprabhṛtayo mādrīputrau ca pāṇḍavau ||
te sametya susaṃrabdhāḥ sahitāḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ ||
maheṣvāsavarair guptaṃ droṇānīkaṃ bibhitsavaḥ ||
samāpetur mahāvīryā bhīmaprabhṛtayo rathāḥ ||
tān pratyagṛhṇād avyagro droṇo 'pi rathināṃ varaḥ ||
Those men of boundless might — with Yuyudhana (Satyaki) foremost, and both sons of Madri, the Pandavas — advanced closer to Bhimasena. United, blazing with fury, together, bull-like men rushing to breach Drona's array, guarded by excellent great archers, they rushed forward — men of great valor with Bhima foremost, chariot warriors all. Unperturbed Drona, the best of chariot warriors, met them head-on.
7aca403d3e25 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Against a host of warriors blazing with fury, Drona stands "unperturbed" — the calm of a master who does not lose his composure before the onslaught of many. Here two principles are set against each other: the hot fury of the attackers and the cold composure of the defender. It is telling that the tradition marks precisely Drona's unperturbedness as the sign of his superiority. The verse teaches that composure is stronger than fury: the calm master meets an enraged multitude without flinching; that passion, however fierce, yields before the gathered calm of the skilled; and that true greatness in battle lies not in shouting and heat but in that unperturbedness which sees clearly and acts precisely where another chokes on his own rage.