Shloka 21
भीमसेन-द्रोण-संग्रामः
Bhīmasena and Droṇa: Containment, Advance, and Recognition
तथा हि मुखवर्णो5यमनयोरिति मेनिरे । तावका वीक्ष्य मुक्त तौ विक्रोशन्ति सम सर्वश:,इन दोनोंके मुखकी कान्ति वैसी ही थी, ऐसा सभी सैनिक मान रहे थे। विषधर सर्प और प्रज्वलित अग्निके समान भयंकर द्रोणाचार्य तथा अन्य नरेशोंके हाथसे छूटे हुए दो प्रकाशमान सूर्योके सदृश श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनको वहाँ देखकर आपके समस्त सैनिक सब ओरसे कोलाहल मचा रहे थे
tathā hi mukhavarṇo ’yam anayor iti menire | tāvakā vīkṣya muktau tau vikrośanti samaṃ sarvaśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Indeed, the radiance of their faces is the same”—so the warriors judged. Seeing those two set free, your troops raised a tumult on every side, as they beheld Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna shining like two suns released from the hands of the dreadful Droṇa and the other kings—terrifying as a venomous serpent and as blazing fire.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective judgment and morale shift in war: when extraordinary warriors regain freedom of action, their visible radiance and reputation can overwhelm opponents psychologically. It also implies an ethical dimension of kṣatriya warfare—power must be restrained or released with discernment, because its effects extend beyond physical combat to the minds of all who witness it.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava soldiers, seeing Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna ‘released’ from the pressure of Droṇa and allied kings, perceive their faces as equally radiant and cry out in alarm from all sides. The imagery compares Droṇa’s terror to serpent and fire, and Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna to two blazing suns, emphasizing the sudden resurgence of their battlefield dominance.