अग्निवेश्यो मम प्रादात् तेन बध्नामि वर्म ते ॥
तवाद्य देहरक्षार्थं मन्त्रेण नृपसत्तम ॥
संजय उवाच
एवम् उक्त्वा ततो द्रोणस् तव पुत्रं महाद्युतिः ॥
पुनर् एव वचः प्राह शनैर् आचार्यपुंगवः ॥
ब्रह्मसूत्रेण बध्नामि कवचं तव पार्थिव ॥
हिरण्यगर्भेण यथा बद्धं विष्णोः पुरा रणे ॥
agniveśyo mama prādāt tena badhnāmi varma te ||
tavādya deharakṣārthaṃ mantreṇa nṛpasattama ||
saṃjaya uvāca
evam uktvā tato droṇas tava putraṃ mahādyutiḥ ||
punar eva vacaḥ prāha śanair ācāryapuṃgavaḥ ||
brahmasūtreṇa badhnāmi kavacaṃ tava pārthiva ||
hiraṇyagarbheṇa yathā baddhaṃ viṣṇoḥ purā raṇe ||
"Agnivesya gave it to me; with it I now bind your armor for the protection of your body, by the mantra, O best of kings." Having spoken thus, Drona, the resplendent bull among teachers, then again softly spoke a word to your son: "With the brahma-thread I bind your armor, O king, as Vishnu's was bound of old in battle by Hiranyagarbha [Brahma]."
3b762ccc5989 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
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Drona binds the armor with 'brahmasūtreṇa', the brahma-thread, just as Vishnu himself was once protected by it, given by Brahma. It is telling that the power of the rite is traced to the protection of the Lord Himself. And yet — an unrighteous deed is being blessed, and so this protection is doomed. The verse teaches that even the holiest rites and threads do not save the unrighteous: what once guarded Vishnu will not save one who stands against Vishnu-Krishna; for the power of a rite is subject to the Lord's will, and turned against Him, it is powerless.