Shloka 21
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ७२: सैन्यगुणवर्णनम्, व्यूहरक्षा, दैव-पुरुषकारचिन्ता
एवमुक्तस्ततो द्रोणस्तव पुत्रेण मारिष । (उवाच तत्र राजानं संक्रुद्ध इव नि:श्वसन् । आर्य! आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनके ऐसा कहनेपर द्रोणाचार्य कुछ कुपित-से हो उठे और लंबी साँस खींचते हुए राजा दुर्योधनसे बोले। द्रोण उवाच बालिशस्त्वं न जानीषे पाण्डवानां पराक्रमम् | न शक््या हि यथा जेतुं पाण्डवा हि महाबला: ।। यथाबलं यथावीर्य कर्म कुर्यामहं हि ते । द्रोणाचार्यने कहा--तुम नादान हो। पाण्डवोंका पराक्रम कैसा है, यह नहीं जानते। महाबली पाण्डवोंको युद्धमें जीतना असम्भव है, तथापि मैं अपने बल और पराक्रमके अनुसार तुम्हारा कार्य कर सकता हूँ। संजय उवाच इत्युक्त्वा ते सुतं राजन्नभ्यपद्यत वाहिनीम् ।) अभिनत् पाण्डवानीकं प्रेक्षमाणस्य सात्यके:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! आपके पुत्रसे ऐसा कहकर द्रोणाचार्य पाण्डवोंकी सेनाका सामना करनेके लिये गये। वे सात्यकिके देखते-देखते पाण्डवसेनाको विदीर्ण करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca |
evam uktas tato droṇas tava putreṇa māriṣa |
uvāca tatra rājānaṃ saṃkruddha iva niḥśvasan ||
droṇa uvāca |
bāliśas tvaṃ na jānīṣe pāṇḍavānāṃ parākramam |
na śakyā hi yathā jetuṃ pāṇḍavā hi mahābalāḥ ||
yathābalaṃ yathāvīryaṃ karma kuryām ahaṃ hi te |
sañjaya uvāca |
ity uktvā te sutaṃ rājann abhyapadyata vāhinīm |
abhinat pāṇḍavānīkaṃ prekṣamāṇasya sātyakeḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Thus addressed by your son, O venerable king, Drona—breathing hard as if in anger—spoke there to King Duryodhana. Drona said: “You are foolish; you do not understand the prowess of the Pandavas. The mighty Pandavas cannot truly be conquered in battle. Still, I will carry out your task according to my strength and valor.” Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to your son, O king, Drona advanced against the army and, before Satyaki’s very eyes, began to break and split the Pandava battle-formation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Drona models hard realism and measured duty: he rebukes overconfidence, acknowledges the Pandavas’ superior collective might, yet commits to act within the limits of his own strength and responsibility—showing that ethical agency includes honest assessment and proportional action.
After Duryodhana speaks to him, Drona—visibly agitated—tells the king that the Pandavas are extraordinarily powerful and not easily conquerable. He then moves forward into battle and begins to rupture the Pandava formation, doing so in full view of Satyaki.