संजय उवाच
अपराह्णे महाराज संग्रामः समपद्यत ॥
पर्जन्यसमनिर्घोषः पुनर् द्रोणस्य सोमकैः ॥
शोणाश्वं रथम् आस्थाय नरवीरः समाहितः ॥
समरे ऽभ्यद्रवत् पाण्डूञ् जवम् आस्थाय मध्यमम् ॥
तव प्रियहिते युक्तो महेष्वासो महाबलः ॥
चित्रपुङ्खैः शितैर् बाणैः कलशोत्तमसंभवः ॥
वरान् वरान् हि योधानां विचिन्वन्न् इव भारत ॥
अक्रीडत रणे राजन् भारद्वाजः प्रतापवान् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
aparāhṇe mahārāja saṃgrāmaḥ samapadyata ||
parjanyasamanirghoṣaḥ punar droṇasya somakaiḥ ||
śoṇāśvaṃ ratham āsthāya naravīraḥ samāhitaḥ ||
samare 'bhyadravat pāṇḍūñ javam āsthāya madhyamam ||
tava priyahite yukto maheṣvāso mahābalaḥ ||
citrapuṅkhaiḥ śitair bāṇaiḥ kalaśottamasaṃbhavaḥ ||
varān varān hi yodhānāṃ vicinvann iva bhārata ||
akrīḍata raṇe rājan bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān ||
In the afternoon, O great king, the battle joined again — with a roar equal to a rain-cloud's — between Drona and the Somakas. Mounting his chariot with red horses, the hero among men, composed, rushed at the Pandavas in battle, taking a moderate pace. Devoted to your welfare, the great archer, mighty, born from the finest pitcher, with brightly-feathered, sharp arrows, as if selecting the best of the best among warriors, played in the battle, O king — the valiant son of Bharadvaja.
67f7f2fe7047 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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Drona "akrīḍata raṇe" — plays in battle, "varān varān vicinvann iva" — as if selecting the best: fearsome mastery turns deadly labor into something like play. It is telling that his power is given to "tava priyahite" — your welfare — an unrighteous cause. The verse teaches that the greatest skill, placed at the service of wrong, becomes a terrible game with death: a master's ease is all the more dreadful the more unrighteous the goal it serves.