यो यः स्म लीयते द्रोणं तं तं द्रोणो ऽन्तकोपमः ॥
आदत्त सर्वभूतानि प्राप्ते काले यथान्तकः ॥
ततो द्रोणो महेष्वासो नाम विश्राव्य संयुगे ॥
शरैर् अनेकसाहस्रैः पाण्डवेयान् व्यमोहयत् ॥
ततो द्रोणाङ्किता बाणाः स्वर्णपुङ्खाः शिलाशिताः ॥
नरान् नागान् हयांश् चैव निजघ्नुः सर्वतो रणे ॥
yo yaḥ sma līyate droṇaṃ taṃ taṃ droṇo 'ntakopamaḥ ||
ādatta sarvabhūtāni prāpte kāle yathāntakaḥ ||
tato droṇo maheṣvāso nāma viśrāvya saṃyuge ||
śarair anekasāhasraiḥ pāṇḍaveyān vyamohayat ||
tato droṇāṅkitā bāṇāḥ svarṇapuṅkhāḥ śilāśitāḥ ||
narān nāgān hayāṃś caiva nijaghnuḥ sarvato raṇe ||
Whoever drew near to Drona, that one Drona, like Death itself, took in, as [Yama] gathers all beings when their time has come. Then Drona, the great archer, proclaiming his name in battle, threw the Pandavas into confusion with arrows by the many thousands. Then arrows marked by Drona, gold-feathered and whetted on stone, struck men, elephants, and horses from every side in the battle.
3888945fab34 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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Drona, "antakopamaḥ… ādatta sarvabhūtāni," like Yama, gathers in all who draw near him — the image of Death itself at its hour. It is telling that his terror is likened not to a man but to the all-consuming End. The verse teaches that there is a might before which whoever approaches is doomed, as before Yama at the appointed hour; yet even this might, death-like as it is, is not eternal — for Drona too has his own hour measured out.