Shloka 15
रथचिह्नवर्णनम् / Description of Chariot Standards and Allied Advances
भ्रमरैरिव चाविष्टा द्रोणस्य निशितै: शरै: । अन्योन्यं समलीयन्त पलायनपरायणा:,भ्रमरोंके समान द्रोणके पैने बाणोंसे घायल होकर ये रणभूमिसे पलायन करते हुए एक-दूसरेकी आउडमें छिप रहे हैं
bhramarair iva cāviṣṭā droṇasya niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | anyonyaṃ samalīyanta palāyanaparāyaṇāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “Stung and swarming like bees, struck by Droṇa’s razor-sharp arrows, they—intent only on flight—press into one another, seeking cover behind each other as they try to escape the battlefield.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear can collapse discipline and courage in war: when overwhelmed by a superior warrior’s force, soldiers abandon duty and seek safety even at the cost of dignity, revealing the ethical tension between self-preservation and kṣatriya responsibility.
Duryodhana describes troops being struck by Droṇa’s sharp arrows; panicked and focused on fleeing, they crowd together and hide behind one another, like people beset by a swarm of bees.