संजय उवाच
तां प्रभग्नां चमूं दृष्ट्वा सौभद्रेणामितौजसा ॥
दुर्योधनो भृशं क्रुद्धः स्वयं सौभद्रम् अभ्ययात् ॥
ततो राजानम् आवृत्तं सौभद्रं प्रति संयुगे ॥
दृष्ट्वा द्रोणो ऽब्रवीद् योधान् पर्याप्नुत नराधिपम् ॥
पुराभिमन्युर् लक्ष्यं नः पश्यतां हन्ति वीर्यवान् ॥
तम् आद्रवत मा भैष्ट क्षिप्रं रक्षत कौरवम् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tāṃ prabhagnāṃ camūṃ dṛṣṭvā saubhadreṇāmitaujasā ||
duryodhano bhṛśaṃ kruddhaḥ svayaṃ saubhadram abhyayāt ||
tato rājānam āvṛttaṃ saubhadraṃ prati saṃyuge ||
dṛṣṭvā droṇo 'bravīd yodhān paryāpnuta narādhipam ||
purābhimanyur lakṣyaṃ naḥ paśyatāṃ hanti vīryavān ||
tam ādravata mā bhaiṣṭa kṣipraṃ rakṣata kauravam ||
Beholding that army shattered by the immeasurably mighty son of Subhadra, Duryodhana, filled with fury, himself charged at Abhimanyu. Then, seeing the king turn upon Abhimanyu in battle, Drona said to the warriors: "Surround the king, lest the mighty Abhimanyu slay our mark before our very eyes. Charge at him, fear not; quickly guard the Kaurava!"
6d087f568ea6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Drona commands not to overcome the boy, but to "guard the king" — concern for Duryodhana outweighs martial honor, and so everyone is thrown against a mere child. The very phrase "our mark," spoken of Duryodhana, reveals on whom the whole affair rests — on one man who must be shielded at any cost. It is telling that fear for the king, not valor, moves the warriors. The verse teaches that when everything depends on preserving one man, prudent caution easily slides into wrongdoing — protecting the king by surrounding a boy in a mass; that concern for a leader, carried to the point of destroying a child with numbers, is already dishonor; and that a cause whose chief thought is to shield the instigator at any price betrays its own nature, for the righteous has no need to shelter one man behind the deaths of many and a crime against a child.