धृष्टकेतुश् च चेदीनाम् ऋषभो ऽतिबलोदितः ॥
सहसा प्रापतद् द्रोणं पतंग इव पावकम् ॥
सो ऽभ्यविध्यत् ततो द्रोणं षष्ट्या साश्वरथध्वजम् ॥
पुनश् चान्यैः शरैस् तीक्ष्णैः सुप्तं व्याघ्रं तुदन्न् इव ॥
तस्य द्रोणो धनुर्मध्ये क्षुरप्रेण शितेन ह ॥
चिच्छेद राज्ञो बलिनो यतमानस्य संयुगे ॥
dhṛṣṭaketuś ca cedīnām ṛṣabho 'tibaloditaḥ ||
sahasā prāpatad droṇaṃ pataṃga iva pāvakam ||
so 'bhyavidhyat tato droṇaṃ ṣaṣṭyā sāśvarathadhvajam ||
punaś cānyaiḥ śarais tīkṣṇaiḥ suptaṃ vyāghraṃ tudann iva ||
tasya droṇo dhanurmadhye kṣurapreṇa śitena ha ||
ciccheda rājño balino yatamānasya saṃyuge ||
And Dhrishtaketu, bull of the Chedis, exalted by his great strength, suddenly fell upon Drona like a moth upon fire. He then pierced Drona with sixty arrows — striking his horses, chariot, and banner — and again with other sharp arrows, as one pricking a sleeping tiger. Drona then cut through the bow, at its middle, of that mighty king who strove in battle, with a keen razor-headed arrow.
2678ceef9aa3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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Dhrishtaketu charges "pataṃga iva pāvakam" — like a moth upon fire — and pricks Drona, "suptaṃ vyāghraṃ tudann iva" — as one goading a sleeping tiger: a boldness that wakes a storm. It is telling that to challenge the most formidable is to fly toward one's own destruction. The verse teaches that reckless daring before the unconquerable is fatal: he who disturbs a sleeping tiger wakes his own death, and the moth drawn by the flame is consumed — such is the fate of courage without measure.