संजय उवाच
संप्रद्रुतः क्रोधविषो व्यादितास्यशरासनः ॥
तीक्ष्णधारेषुदशनः शितनाराचदंष्ट्रवान् ॥
संरम्भामर्षताम्राक्षो महाहिर् इव निःश्वसन् ॥
नरवीरप्रमुदितैः शोणैर् अश्वैर् महाजवैः ॥
उत्पतद्भिर् इवाकाशं क्रमद्भिर् इव सर्वतः ॥
रुक्मपुङ्खाञ् शरान् अस्यन् युयुधानम् उपाद्रवत् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
saṃpradrutaḥ krodhaviṣo vyāditāsyaśarāsanaḥ ||
tīkṣṇadhāreṣudaśanaḥ śitanārācadaṃṣṭravān ||
saṃrambhāmarṣatāmrākṣo mahāhir iva niḥśvasan ||
naravīrapramuditaiḥ śoṇair aśvair mahājavaiḥ ||
utpatadbhir ivākāśaṃ kramadbhir iva sarvataḥ ||
rukmapuṅkhāñ śarān asyan yuyudhānam upādravat ||
Rushing forward, filled with the poison of anger, with a bow like a gaping mouth, with sharp arrows like teeth, with tempered iron shafts like fangs; with eyes red with fury and impatience, hissing like a great serpent; with red horses of great swiftness delighting the heroic men, as if flying up into the sky, as if striding everywhere — loosing golden-feathered arrows, [Drona] rushed upon Yuyudhana.
05f05bbb9042 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
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Drona is here shown in the fearsome likeness of a serpent: the bow is his mouth, the arrows his teeth and fangs, and he himself is "mahāhiḥ iva niḥśvasan," hissing like a great serpent, "krodhaviṣaḥ," filled with the poison of anger. It is telling that anger is likened to snake venom — it poisons the very one who carries it. The verse teaches that anger is poison: "krodhaviṣa" turns a man into a hissing serpent, poisoned from within; and even the greatest teacher, yielding to fury, loses his dignity, becoming the likeness of a venomous creature — an image of how anger distorts the soul.