प्रमथ्नन्तं तदा वीरं भारद्वाजं महारथम् ॥
अभ्यवर्तत संक्रुद्धः शिबी राजन् प्रतापवान् ॥
तम् आपतन्तं संप्रेक्ष्य पाण्डवानां महारथम् ॥
विव्याध दशभिर् द्रोणः सर्वपारशवैः शरैः ॥
तं शिबिः प्रतिविव्याध त्रिंशता निशितैः शरैः ॥
सारथिं चास्य भल्लेन स्मयमानो न्यपातयत् ॥
तस्य द्रोणो हयान् हत्वा सारथिं च महात्मनः ॥
अथास्य सशिरस्त्राणं शिरः कायाद् अपाहरत् ॥
pramathnantaṃ tadā vīraṃ bhāradvājaṃ mahāratham ||
abhyavartata saṃkruddhaḥ śibī rājan pratāpavān ||
tam āpatantaṃ saṃprekṣya pāṇḍavānāṃ mahāratham ||
vivyādha daśabhir droṇaḥ sarvapāraśavaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
taṃ śibiḥ prativivyādha triṃśatā niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
sārathiṃ cāsya bhallena smayamāno nyapātayat ||
tasya droṇo hayān hatvā sārathiṃ ca mahātmanaḥ ||
athāsya saśirastrāṇaṃ śiraḥ kāyād apāharat ||
Against the hero who was then crushing [the foe], Bharadvaja, the maharatha, the valiant Shibi rushed, enraged, o king. Having seen him rushing, the maharatha of the Pandavas, Drona pierced him with ten arrows entirely of steel. Shibi struck him in return with thirty sharp arrows and, smiling, felled his charioteer with a bhalla. Drona, having slain his horses and the charioteer of the great-souled one, then severed his head, helmet and all, from his body.
b0f68ade0fc9 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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The valiant Shibi even manages to touch Drona, felling his charioteer — but he falls: even the worthy, standing against the unconquerable, perishes. It is telling that Shibi strikes his foe "smiling": fearlessness before the face of death. The verse teaches that valor is not always crowned with victory; and one who meets a far stronger foe with a smile gains not triumph but honor — for courage is measured not by outcome but by how one walks to meet fate.