के पृष्ठतो ऽस्य ह्य् अभवन् वीरा वीरस्य युध्यतः ॥
के पुरस्ताद् अगच्छन्त निघ्नतः शात्रवान् रणे ॥
यत् प्राविशन् महेष्वासः पाञ्चालान् अपराजितः ॥
नृत्यन्न् इव नरव्याघ्रो रथमार्गेषु वीर्यवान् ॥
ददाह च शरैर् द्रोणः पाञ्चालानां रथव्रजान् ॥
धूमकेतुर् इव क्रुद्धः स कथं मृत्युम् ईयिवान् ॥
अव्यग्रान् एव हि परान् कथयस्य् अपराजितान् ॥
हतांश् चैव विषण्णांश् च विप्रकीर्णांश् च शंससि ॥
रथिनो विरथांश् चैव कृतान् युद्धेषु मामकान् ॥
ke pṛṣṭhato 'sya hy abhavan vīrā vīrasya yudhyataḥ ||
ke purastād agacchanta nighnataḥ śātravān raṇe ||
yat prāviśan maheṣvāsaḥ pāñcālān aparājitaḥ ||
nṛtyann iva naravyāghro rathamārgeṣu vīryavān ||
dadāha ca śarair droṇaḥ pāñcālānāṃ rathavrajān ||
dhūmaketur iva kruddhaḥ sa kathaṃ mṛtyum īyivān ||
avyagrān eva hi parān kathayasy aparājitān ||
hatāṃś caiva viṣaṇṇāṃś ca viprakīrṇāṃś ca śaṃsasi ||
rathino virathāṃś caiva kṛtān yuddheṣu māmakān ||
'Who were behind him, heroes — beside the fighting hero? Who went in front, beside him striking down enemies in battle? Once the great archer broke in, unconquered, among the Panchalas — like a dancing tiger among men, valiant, along the chariot-paths — and Drona burned with his arrows the chariot-ranks of the Panchalas, like an enraged comet — how then did he meet death? For you call the enemy unshaken, unconquered, but you proclaim my own [warriors] slain, dispirited, scattered, the charioteers stripped of their chariots in the fighting.'
c0b8b653bfa6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:46 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra has caught an inconsistency in the account: if the enemy is invincible while his own men perish, then how did Drona himself fall? The question 'how then did he meet death' is thrown ahead of the events — a father's instinct already foresees the disaster. It is telling that the blind man sees the logic where the sighted are blinded by hope. The verse teaches that a sober mind discerns, in the flow of tidings, their hidden outcome; and one accustomed to self-deception still somewhere, deep down, knows the truth, and it breaks through in an anxious question.