ललाटे ऽताडयच् चैनं नाराचेन स्मयन्न् इव ॥
ऊर्ध्वरश्मिर् इवादित्यो विबभौ तत्र पाण्डवः ॥
स मन्यमानस् त्व् आचार्यो ममायं फल्गुनो यथा ॥
भीमः करिष्यते पूजाम् इत्य् उवाच वृकोदरम् ॥
भीमसेन न ते शक्यं प्रवेष्टुम् अरिवाहिनीम् ॥
माम् अनिर्जित्य समरे शत्रुमध्ये महाबल ॥
यदि ते सो ऽनुजः कृष्णः प्रविष्टो ऽनुमते मम ॥
अनीकं न तु शक्यं भोः प्रवेष्टुम् इह वै त्वया ॥
lalāṭe 'tāḍayac cainaṃ nārācena smayann iva ||
ūrdhvaraśmir ivādityo vibabhau tatra pāṇḍavaḥ ||
sa manyamānas tv ācāryo mamāyaṃ phalguno yathā ||
bhīmaḥ kariṣyate pūjām ity uvāca vṛkodaram ||
bhīmasena na te śakyaṃ praveṣṭum arivāhinīm ||
mām anirjitya samare śatrumadhye mahābala ||
yadi te so 'nujaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ praviṣṭo 'numate mama ||
anīkaṃ na tu śakyaṃ bhoḥ praveṣṭum iha vai tvayā ||
[Drona] struck him then on the forehead with an iron arrow, as though smiling; and the Pandava shone there like the sun with its rays turned upward. [Drona said:] "Bhimasena, it is not possible for you to enter the enemy's host without vanquishing me in battle, amid the foes, O mighty one. If your younger brother Krishna [Arjuna] entered the ranks with my permission, still it cannot be, ho, for you to enter here."
7e4779cbfcab · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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The wounds on his forehead turn to splendor: Bhima shines "like the sun with its rays turned upward." Drona, meanwhile, lays claim to honor, expecting deference such as Arjuna showed him. It is telling that the teacher confuses duty with self-regard. The verse teaches that even a worthy man can fall into the pride of rank: to expect homage where a mortal battle rages is attachment to one's own standing -- and it blinds even the wise.