Shloka 12
रथचिह्नवर्णनम् / Description of Chariot Standards and Allied Advances
नैते जातु पुनर्युद्धमीहेयुरिति मे मति: । यथा तु भग्ना द्रोणेन वातेनेव महाद्रुमा:,मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि ये फिर कभी युद्धकी इच्छा नहीं करेंगे। जैसे वायु बड़े-बड़े वृक्षोंको उखाड़ देती है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणाचार्यने युद्धसे इनके पाँव उखाड़ दिये हैं
naite jātu punar yuddham īheyur iti me matiḥ | yathā tu bhagnā droṇena vāteneva mahādrumāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “It is my conviction that these men will never again wish to engage in battle. Just as a mighty wind uproots great trees, so has Droṇa, by his onslaught, torn the very footing of their will to fight.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how confidence and morale are treated as decisive forces in war: Duryodhana interprets Droṇa’s success not merely as physical victory but as the breaking of the enemy’s resolve. Ethically, it also illustrates the danger of overconfidence—reading a momentary setback as permanent collapse.
In Droṇa Parva, Duryodhana praises Droṇa’s battlefield performance and claims that the opposing side has been so shaken that they will not wish to fight again, using the simile of a wind uprooting great trees to describe Droṇa’s impact.