तम् आयान्तम् अभिक्रुद्धं द्रोणं दृष्ट्वा युधिष्ठिरः ॥
बहुधा चिन्तयाम् आस द्रोणस्य प्रतिवारणम् ॥
अशक्यं तु तम् अन्येन द्रोणं मत्वा युधिष्ठिरः ॥
अविषह्यं गुरुं भारं सौभद्रे समवासृजत् ॥
वासुदेवाद् अनवरं फल्गुनाच् चामितौजसम् ॥
अब्रवीत् परवीरघ्नम् अभिमन्युम् इदं वचः ॥
tam āyāntam abhikruddhaṃ droṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
bahudhā cintayām āsa droṇasya prativāraṇam ||
aśakyaṃ tu tam anyena droṇaṃ matvā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
aviṣahyaṃ guruṃ bhāraṃ saubhadre samavāsṛjat ||
vāsudevād anavaraṃ phalgunāc cāmitaujasam ||
abravīt paravīraghnam abhimanyum idaṃ vacaḥ ||
Seeing that Drona advancing, fiercely enraged, Yudhishthira pondered in many ways how to check Drona. Deeming that Drona unconquerable by anyone else, Yudhishthira laid the unbearable, heavy burden upon the son of Subhadra. To him who was not inferior to Vasudeva and Phalguna, of boundless might, the slayer of enemy heroes, Abhimanyu, he spoke these words.
63f210f273d5 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Finding no one who could check Drona, Yudhishthira lays an "unbearable, heavy burden" upon the boy. The very word "unbearable" (aviṣahya) is a bitter sign: the king is aware of the excess of what he asks, and yet asks it, for there is no other way. Here is the knot of the tragedy: necessity drives even the wise to a desperate step. It is telling that the tradition openly calls the burden "unbearable" — the guilt for what is to come is not hidden. The verse teaches that the desperation of need can bend even the righteous toward what they themselves dread; that laying an unbearable burden upon the young, however valiant, is a fatal error born of having no way out; and that in this "unbearable burden" placed upon the boy, sorrow is already foreordained — for what is called unbearable most often proves to be exactly that.