तस्य सर्वात्मना मन्ये भारद्वाजस्य रक्षणम् ॥
स गुप्तः सोमकान् हन्यात् सृञ्जयांश् च सराजकान् ॥
सृञ्जयेष्व् अथ सर्वेषु निहतेषु चमूमुखे ॥
धृष्टद्युम्नं रणे द्रौणिर् नाशयिष्यत्य् असंशयम् ॥
तथार्जुनं रणे कर्णो विजेष्यति महारथः ॥
भीमसेनम् अहं चापि युद्धे जेष्यामि दंशितः ॥
सो ऽयं मम जयो व्यक्तं दीर्घकालं भविष्यति ॥
तस्माद् रक्षत संग्रामे द्रोणम् एव महारथाः ॥
tasya sarvātmanā manye bhāradvājasya rakṣaṇam ||
sa guptaḥ somakān hanyāt sṛñjayāṃś ca sarājakān ||
sṛñjayeṣv atha sarveṣu nihateṣu camūmukhe ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ raṇe drauṇir nāśayiṣyaty asaṃśayam ||
tathārjunaṃ raṇe karṇo vijeṣyati mahārathaḥ ||
bhīmasenam ahaṃ cāpi yuddhe jeṣyāmi daṃśitaḥ ||
so 'yaṃ mama jayo vyaktaṃ dīrghakālaṃ bhaviṣyati ||
tasmād rakṣata saṃgrāme droṇam eva mahārathāḥ ||
'With all my soul I deem the protection of Drona [paramount]: he, being guarded, would slay the Somakas and the Srinjayas together with their kings. Then, when all the Srinjayas have been slain at the front of the army, Drauni will destroy Dhrishtadyumna in battle, without doubt. Likewise Karna, the great warrior, will conquer Arjuna in battle, and I myself, armored, will conquer Bhimasena in battle. This victory of mine will clearly be long-lasting; therefore, in the battle, guard Drona above all, O great warriors.'
b1dbfd3f4602 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:46 PM UTC
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Duryodhana lays out his calculation link by link: Drona will finish off the Srinjayas, Drauni will kill Dhrishtadyumna, Karna will defeat Arjuna, he himself will defeat Bhima. The neatness of this plan is itself his blindness: each link rests on another's infallibility. It is telling that almost everything will turn out the opposite — Drona will fall, Dhrishtadyumna will survive until the Sauptika. The verse teaches that calculating hope, heedless of dharma and of fate, is but a neatly built self-deception, and the more coherent it is, the bitterer its outcome.