द्रोणेन व्याहृते त्व् एवं संशप्तकगणाः पुनः ॥
आह्वयन्न् अर्जुनं संख्ये दक्षिणाम् अभितो दिशम् ॥
तत्रार्जुनस्याथ परैः सार्धं समभवद् रणः ॥
तादृशो यादृशो नान्यः श्रुतो दृष्टो ऽपि वा क्व चित् ॥
ततो द्रोणेन विहितो राजन् व्यूहो व्यरोचत ॥
चरन् मध्यंदिने सूर्यः प्रतपन्न् इव दुर्दृशः ॥
droṇena vyāhṛte tv evaṃ saṃśaptakagaṇāḥ punaḥ ||
āhvayann arjunaṃ saṃkhye dakṣiṇām abhito diśam ||
tatrārjunasyātha paraiḥ sārdhaṃ samabhavad raṇaḥ ||
tādṛśo yādṛśo nānyaḥ śruto dṛṣṭo 'pi vā kva cit ||
tato droṇena vihito rājan vyūho vyarocata ||
caran madhyaṃdine sūryaḥ pratapann iva durdṛśaḥ ||
When this was said by Drona, the bands of samshaptakas again summoned Arjuna to the fight toward the southern quarter. There a battle arose for Arjuna with the enemies, such as no other has been heard of or seen anywhere. Then, O king, the array erected by Drona gleamed, just as the blazing midday sun, proceeding [across the sky], unbearable to look upon.
d3694a4e39e2 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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The design comes into motion: no sooner has Drona conceived of drawing Arjuna away than the samshaptakas again call him off — bait and trap working in concert. And Drona's array, "unbearable to look upon, like the midday sun," is terrible in its very appearance. Telling is that this formation is raised precisely when the defender has been drawn away — the scheme of the wrongdoer is accomplished in his absence. The verse teaches that malicious intent often meshes like parts of a single mechanism: one thing draws away, another strikes; that a terrifying array, dazzling to the eye, is an instrument of a plan calculated on the absence of the strongest; and that wise is the one who discerns, beneath the brilliance of a battle formation, the calculation hidden within it — for the most majestic array here is raised not for honest battle, but to destroy one whom no one is left to defend.