Mahabharata (Gita Press) 7.39.9 - Drona Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 9

अभिमन्युना दुःशासनस्य ताडनम्

Abhimanyu’s Rebuke and Wounding of Duḥśāsana; Karṇa’s Counter-volley

Devanagari script

अथाब्रवीन्महाप्राज्ञो भारद्वाज: प्रतापवान्‌ | हर्षेणोत्फुल्लनयन: कृपमाभाष्य सत्वरम्‌

Transliteration

athābravīn mahāprājño bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān | harṣeṇotphullanayanaḥ kṛpam ābhāṣya satvaram ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Entonces el poderoso y hondamente sabio Bhāradvāja (Droṇa), con los ojos florecidos de júbilo, se dirigió con presteza a Kṛpa. Al ver a Abhimanyu firme en la lid y combatiendo con pericia consumada, Droṇa habló de modo que parecía herir el punto vulnerable de la causa de tu hijo, empujando la batalla hacia una ventaja decisiva.

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Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then

• thereafter', 'abravīt': 'said

• spoke', 'mahāprājñaḥ': 'greatly wise

• of profound intellect', 'bhāradvājaḥ': 'son of Bharadvāja

• Droṇa', 'pratāpavān': 'mighty

• possessing splendor/energy', 'harṣeṇa': 'with joy

• with exhilaration', 'utphulla-nayanaḥ': 'with eyes widened/blooming (from excitement)', 'kṛpam': 'Kṛpa (the warrior and preceptor)', 'ābhāṣya': 'having addressed

• speaking to', 'satvaram': 'quickly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Bhāradvāja)
• Kṛpa
• Abhimanyu
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'your son')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how powerful emotion and strategic intent can shape speech in war: a commander, thrilled by a tactical opening, immediately coordinates with an ally. Ethically, it frames the tension between martial duty (kṣātra-dharma) and the hardening of the heart that battlefield advantage can produce.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa, excited and energized, promptly speaks to Kṛpa after observing Abhimanyu positioned in combat. Droṇa’s words (continued in subsequent verses) are meant to guide action against the Pāṇḍava side and to exploit a critical weakness affecting Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons’ prospects.