स द्रोणं पञ्चभिर् विद्ध्वा शरैः संनतपर्वभिः ॥
ध्वजम् एकेन विव्याध सारथिं चास्य सप्तभिः ॥
तत्राद्भुतं महाराज दृष्टवान् अस्मि संयुगे ॥
यद् द्रोणो रभसं युद्धे पाञ्चाल्यं नाभ्यवर्तत ॥
संनिरुद्धं रणे द्रोणं पाञ्चाला वीक्ष्य मारिष ॥
आवव्रुः सर्वतो राजन् धर्मपुत्रजयैषिणः ॥
sa droṇaṃ pañcabhir viddhvā śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
dhvajam ekena vivyādha sārathiṃ cāsya saptabhiḥ ||
tatrādbhutaṃ mahārāja dṛṣṭavān asmi saṃyuge ||
yad droṇo rabhasaṃ yuddhe pāñcālyaṃ nābhyavartata ||
saṃniruddhaṃ raṇe droṇaṃ pāñcālā vīkṣya māriṣa ||
āvavruḥ sarvato rājan dharmaputrajayaiṣiṇaḥ ||
He, having pierced Droṇa with five arrows of smooth joints, struck his banner with one, and his charioteer with seven. There, O great king, I saw a marvel in the fight: that Droṇa, impetuous in battle, did not at once overcome the son of Pāñcāla. Seeing Droṇa thus checked in battle, O venerable one, the Pāñcālas, desiring victory for the son of Dharma, surrounded him on all sides, O king.
4c3834aff336 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:08:02 PM UTC
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Young Vīraketu holds even Droṇa at bay for a moment — "droṇaḥ pāñcālyaṃ na abhyavartata": even the most terrible meets a worthy resistance. It is telling that the youth's valor draws from the narrator the word "adbhutam," a marvel. The verse teaches that an opponent's greatness does not annul the courage of one who dares: even before an unmatched master, a young hero can show wondrous steadfastness, and his feat is the more glorious the more terrible the one he has, for a moment, halted.