ते मिश्रा बह्व् अशोभन्त जवना वातरंहसः ॥
पारावतसवर्णाश् च शोणाश् च भरतर्षभ ॥
यथा सविद्युतो मेघा नदन्तो जलदागमे ॥
तथा रेजुर् महाराज मिश्रिता रणमूर्धनि ॥
ईषाबन्धं चक्रबन्धं रथबन्धं तथैव च ॥
प्रणाशयद् अमेयात्मा धृष्टद्युम्नस्य स द्विजः ॥
स छिन्नधन्वा विरथो हताश्वो हतसारथिः ॥
उत्तमाम् आपदं प्राप्य गदां वीरः परामृशत् ॥
te miśrā bahv aśobhanta javanā vātaraṃhasaḥ ||
pārāvatasavarṇāś ca śoṇāś ca bharatarṣabha ||
yathā savidyuto meghā nadanto jaladāgame ||
tathā rejur mahārāja miśritā raṇamūrdhani ||
īṣābandhaṃ cakrabandhaṃ rathabandhaṃ tathaiva ca ||
praṇāśayad ameyātmā dhṛṣṭadyumnasya sa dvijaḥ ||
sa chinnadhanvā viratho hatāśvo hatasārathiḥ ||
uttamām āpadaṃ prāpya gadāṃ vīraḥ parāmṛśat ||
They, mingled, shone brightly, swift, with the swiftness of the wind, and the color of a dove, and reddish-brown, O bull among the Bharatas. Like clouds with lightning, thundering at the onset of the rains, so they shone, O great king, mingled at the forefront of battle. The binding of the pole, the binding of the wheel, and the chariot's fastening as well — that brahmin [Drona], immeasurable in spirit, destroyed them all belonging to Dhrishtadyumna. He, with his bow shattered, without a chariot, with his horses and charioteer slain, having fallen into the direst calamity, the hero seized the mace.
0f2725dc2633 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The horses of the two warriors, mingled together, shine 'like storm clouds' — even ruin is clothed in the semblance of heavenly beauty. It is telling that Drona shatters the very fastenings of Dhrishtadyumna's chariot — stripping him utterly bare. The verse teaches that a master crushes not only the enemy's weapon but the very foundation beneath him; and yet the hero, stripped of everything, seizes the mace — for the true warrior, laid bare to the utmost, does not surrender, but fights with what remains.