Shloka 9
Droṇa-pātana-paripṛcchā (Inquiry into the Fall of Droṇa) | द्रोणपातनपरिपृच्छा
रथानश्वान् नरान् नागानभिधावन्नितस्ततः । चचारोन्मत्तवद द्रोणो वृद्धोडपि तरुणो यथा,वे बूढ़े होकर भी जवानके समान फुर्तीले थे। द्रोणाचार्य उन्मत्तकी भाँति युद्धस्थलमें इधर-उधर चारों ओर विचरते और रथों, घोड़ों, पैदल मनुष्यों तथा हाथियोंपर धावा करते थे
sañjaya uvāca | rathān aśvān narān nāgān abhidhāvann itas tataḥ | cacāronmattavad droṇo vṛddho 'pi taruṇo yathā ||
サञ्जयは言った。ドローナは老境にありながら、若者のごとき速さと勢いで動いた。憑かれた者のように戦場を縦横に駆け、ここにあらわれ、またあそこへと突進して—戦車、馬、歩兵、象へと襲いかかった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial skill and determination can appear 'unmattavat'—frenzied—when the mind is absorbed in battle. It implicitly raises an ethical contrast between disciplined valor and uncontrolled violence: even a venerable elder can become an instrument of destruction if restraint and clarity are eclipsed by the momentum of war.
Sañjaya describes Droṇa’s battlefield conduct: despite his age, he moves swiftly like a youth, roaming in all directions and repeatedly charging at the enemy’s chariots, horses, infantry, and elephants.