तान् पश्यन् सैन्यमध्यस्थो राजा स्वजनसंवृतः ॥
दुर्योधनो ऽब्रवीत् कर्णं प्रहृष्टः प्रहसन्न् इव ॥
पश्य राधेय पाञ्चालान् प्रणुन्नान् द्रोणसायकैः ॥
सिंहेनेव मृगान् वन्यांस् त्रासितान् दृढधन्वना ॥
नैते जातु पुनर् युद्धम् ईहेयुर् इति मे मतिः ॥
यथा तु भग्ना द्रोणेन वातेनेव महाद्रुमाः ॥
tān paśyan sainyamadhyastho rājā svajanasaṃvṛtaḥ ||
duryodhano 'bravīt karṇaṃ prahṛṣṭaḥ prahasann iva ||
paśya rādheya pāñcālān praṇunnān droṇasāyakaiḥ ||
siṃheneva mṛgān vanyāṃs trāsitān dṛḍhadhanvanā ||
naite jātu punar yuddham īheyur iti me matiḥ ||
yathā tu bhagnā droṇena vāteneva mahādrumāḥ ||
Looking at them, king Duryodhana, standing amid the host in the company of kinsmen, in exultation, as if smirking, spoke to Karna: "Behold, O Radheya, the Panchalas, driven back by Drona's arrows, like forest deer scattered by a lion — by this firm-bowed one. Never again will they seek battle — such is my thought — seeing how they are shattered by Drona, like mighty trees by the wind."
9dd3c232fb59 · publicado 19 jul 2026, 15:11:21 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Duryodhana revels in another's rout, "as if smirking" — and in this laughter lies his weakness, not his strength. The hasty conclusion "never again will they seek battle" is born not of sober judgment but of malicious glee, which mistakes the wished-for for the accomplished. It is significant that tradition has more than once shown: it is precisely such premature triumph that precedes a reversal. The verse teaches that malicious glee clouds the mind, inclining one to see the enemy as crushed before he is crushed; that laughter over the fallen is not a sign of strength but its lack, for one strong in spirit remains restrained even in victory; and that a leader beguiled by a momentary advantage, mistaking flight for the end of resistance, prepares for himself a harsh awakening.