Shloka 206
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya
Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance
बभूव पाण्डवी सेना तव पुत्रस्य तेजसा । जैसे हवा और सूर्यसे पानी सूख जानेके कारण पद्चिनी हतप्रभ हो जाती है, उसी प्रकार आपके पुत्रके तेजसे तप्त होकर पाण्डव-सेना श्रीहीन हो गयी थी
babhūva pāṇḍavī senā tava putrasya tejasā | yathā vāyu-sūryābhyāṃ pānīyaṃ śoṣyamāṇaṃ padminī hataprabhā bhavati, tathā tava putra-tejasā tapyamānā pāṇḍavī senā śrīhīnābhavat ||
Sañjaya berkata: oleh kedahsyatan (tejas) putramu, bala Pāṇḍava menjadi pudar. Seperti telaga teratai kehilangan sinarnya ketika airnya mengering oleh angin dan matahari, demikian pula, tersengat dayanya, pasukan Pāṇḍava menjadi kehilangan kemuliaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force (tejas) can strip an opposing side of visible fortune and morale (śrī). It also implies the fragility of external splendor in war: like a lotus-pond dependent on water, an army’s radiance depends on sustaining conditions—confidence, cohesion, and auspicious momentum—which can be drained by fear and pressure.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍava forces have become lusterless under the intense martial pressure exerted by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana). The comparison to a lotus-pond drying under wind and sun conveys the Pāṇḍavas’ diminished brilliance and shaken battlefield presence at that moment.