Shloka 18
Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption
अत्यन्तवैरिणं दृप्तं दृष्टवा शत्रुं पपाजितम् । धर्ममारुतशक्राणामश्रिनो: प्रतिमास्तथा,अभ्यद्रवन्त त्वरिता द्रोणानीकं॑ बिभित्सव: । घमंडमें भरे हुए अपने कट्टर शत्रुको पराजित हुआ देख अपनी ध्वजाओंके अग्रभागमें धर्म, वायु, इन्द्र और अश्विनीकुमारोंकी प्रतिमा धारण करनेवाले महारथी द्रौपदीकुमार, सात्यकि, चेकितान, धृष्टद्युम्मन, शिखण्डी, केकय-राजकुमार, धृष्टकेतु, मत्स्य, पांचाल, सूंजय तथा युधिष्ठिर आदि पाण्डव बड़े हर्षके साथ उतावले होकर द्रोणाचार्यके व्यूहका भेदन करनेकी इच्छासे उसपर टूट पड़े
sañjaya uvāca | atyantavairiṇaṃ dṛptaṃ dṛṣṭvā śatruṃ parājitam | dharma-māruta-śakrāṇām aśvinoḥ pratimās tathā dhvajāgrabhāge dhārayantaḥ tvaritā abhyadravan droṇānīkaṃ bibhitsavaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Seeing their utterly hostile and arrogant enemy brought low, the warriors who bore on the foreparts of their standards the emblems of Dharma, Vāyu, Indra, and the Aśvin twins rushed forward in haste, eager to break through Droṇa’s battle-array. Their surge is driven not merely by triumph, but by the conviction that the enemy’s pride has been checked and that the moment has come to pierce the formidable formation guarding Droṇa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance (dṛpti) in an enemy, once checked, becomes a moral and tactical turning point: warriors seize the moment with disciplined resolve, aligning their cause with dharma-symbols on their standards while acting decisively in battle.
Sañjaya describes a sudden charge: after seeing a fiercely hostile, proud opponent defeated, the warriors bearing divine emblems on their banners rush to assault and pierce Droṇa’s formidable battle-array (Droṇānīka).