समवेतांस् तु तान् सर्वान् भारद्वाजो ऽपि वीर्यवान् ॥
असंभ्रान्तः शरौघेण महता समवारयत् ॥
महौघाः सलिलस्येव गिरिम् आसाद्य दुर्भिदम् ॥
द्रोणं ते नाभ्यवर्तन्त वेलाम् इव जलाशयाः ॥
पीड्यमानाः शरै राजन् द्रोणचापविनिःसृतैः ॥
न शेकुः प्रमुखे स्थातुं भारद्वाजस्य पाण्डवाः ॥
तद् अद्भुतम् अपश्याम द्रोणस्य भुजयोर् बलम् ॥
यद् एनं नाभ्यवर्तन्त पाञ्चालाः सृञ्जयैः सह ॥
samavetāṃs tu tān sarvān bhāradvājo 'pi vīryavān ||
asaṃbhrāntaḥ śaraugheṇa mahatā samavārayat ||
mahaughāḥ salilasyeva girim āsādya durbhidam ||
droṇaṃ te nābhyavartanta velām iva jalāśayāḥ ||
pīḍyamānāḥ śarai rājan droṇacāpaviniḥsṛtaiḥ ||
na śekuḥ pramukhe sthātuṃ bhāradvājasya pāṇḍavāḥ ||
tad adbhutam apaśyāma droṇasya bhujayor balam ||
yad enaṃ nābhyavartanta pāñcālāḥ sṛñjayaiḥ saha ||
All those who had charged upon him, mighty Drona, unshaken, checked with a great flood of arrows. Just as great floods of water, striking against an unconquerable mountain, [do not overcome it], so they could not get past Drona — just like waters before a seashore. Hard-pressed by the arrows, O king, flying from Drona's bow, the Pandavas could not stand before Drona. That marvel we beheld — the strength of Drona's arms: that he could not be overcome by the Panchalas together with the Srinjayas.
2f1952ad7ad8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Drona alone, "unshaken," like a mountain and like a seashore, halts the flood of attackers: water breaks upon the unmoved, without shifting it. In these images lies might tempered by calm: not fury but steadiness withstands the onslaught of thousands. It is telling that even Sanjaya, an eyewitness, calls this a "marvel" — the superiority of one over many astonishes even an outsider. The verse teaches that the gathered steadiness of one can halt the flood of whole armies, as a shore halts the sea; that composure is stronger than any onslaught; and that in this impossibility of a multitude overcoming a single true master, a truth reveals itself: the outcome is decided not by numbers but by concentrated strength, before which even a flood is powerless, like water before an unmoved mountain.