स तु दुःशासनं बाणैर् विमुखीकृत्य पार्षतः ॥
किरञ् शरसहस्राणि द्रोणम् एवाभ्ययाद् रणे ॥
प्रत्यपद्यत हार्दिक्यः कृतवर्मा तदन्तरम् ॥
सोदर्याणां त्रयश् चैव त एनं पर्यवारयन् ॥
तं यमौ पृष्ठतो ऽन्वैतां रक्षन्तौ पुरुषर्षभौ ॥
द्रोणायाभिमुखं यान्तं दीप्यमानम् इवानलम् ॥
संप्रहारम् अकुर्वंस् ते सर्वे सप्त महारथाः ॥
अमर्षिताः सत्त्ववन्तः कृत्वा मरणम् अग्रतः ॥
sa tu duḥśāsanaṃ bāṇair vimukhīkṛtya pārṣataḥ ||
kirañ śarasahasrāṇi droṇam evābhyayād raṇe ||
pratyapadyata hārdikyaḥ kṛtavarmā tadantaram ||
sodaryāṇāṃ trayaś caiva ta enaṃ paryavārayan ||
taṃ yamau pṛṣṭhato 'nvaitāṃ rakṣantau puruṣarṣabhau ||
droṇāyābhimukhaṃ yāntaṃ dīpyamānam ivānalam ||
saṃprahāram akurvaṃs te sarve sapta mahārathāḥ ||
amarṣitāḥ sattvavantaḥ kṛtvā maraṇam agrataḥ ||
But Parshata, having turned Duhshasana back with arrows, showering thousands of arrows, advanced upon Drona in the fight. The son of Hridika, Kritavarman, came up at that moment, and the three brothers of one womb — they surrounded him. Behind him the twins followed, guarding, bulls among men, [him] going straight at Drona like a blazing fire. All seven great warriors engaged in combat, indignant, courageous, placing death before themselves.
2ddf43e2bffb · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The warriors 'place death before themselves' — they go into battle having already accepted their end. This phrase is telling: courage here is not a denial of death but agreement with it. The verse teaches that the highest valor is born from accepting death: whoever has set it before himself as a possible outcome is free from fear and fights without reserve; and it is acceptance of the end, not its denial, that is the root of fearlessness.