Shloka 11
Droṇa-pātana-paripṛcchā (Inquiry into the Fall of Droṇa) | द्रोणपातनपरिपृच्छा
तमन्तकमिव क्रुद्धमापतन्तं यतव्रतम् । दृष्टवा सम्प्राद्रवन् योधा: पाण्डवस्य ततस्तत:,नियमपूर्वक व्रतका पालन करनेवाले द्रोणाचार्यको क्रोधमें भरे हुए कालके समान आते देख पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिरके सारे सैनिक इधर-उधर भाग चले
tam antakam iva kruddham āpatantaṃ yatavratam | dṛṣṭvā samprādravan yodhāḥ pāṇḍavasya tatas tataḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Voyant Droṇa —inébranlable dans la discipline de son vœu— fondre sur eux, courroucé tel Antaka (la Mort) en personne, les guerriers du fils de Pāṇḍu se dispersèrent et s’enfuirent de tous côtés.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined resolve (vrata-niyama) can make a warrior formidable; when such disciplined force is inflamed by anger, it can become terrifying like ‘Death’ itself, causing collapse of morale. Ethically, it also warns that wrath in war magnifies destruction and tests the steadiness of those who face it.
Sañjaya describes Droṇa charging forward in fury. Seeing him advance like Antaka, the Pāṇḍava-side warriors (associated with the son of Pāṇḍu, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira’s host) lose cohesion and flee in different directions.