Mahabharata 7.127.72 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 127, Shloka 72

दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः

Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva

Devanagari script

तान्‌ समेतान्‌ रणे शूरांश्नेदिपणचालसृञ्जयान्‌ | समन्ताद्‌ द्रावयन्‌ द्रोणो बह्मशोभत मारिष

Transliteration

tān sametān raṇe śūrān cedipañcālasṛñjayān | samantād drāvayan droṇo brahmaśobhat mārīṣa ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seeing that chariot of Cekitāna whose horses and charioteer had been slain, and casting his gaze upon the assembled heroes of the Cedi, Pañcāla, and Sṛñjaya forces on the battlefield, Droṇācārya drove them back on every side. O revered one, at that moment he shone with a formidable, almost sacred splendor—his prowess asserting itself amid the harsh demands of war.

Word by Word

• {'tān': 'those (men/warriors)', 'sametān': 'assembled, gathered together', 'raṇe': 'in battle, on the battlefield', 'śūrān': 'heroes, valiant warriors', 'cedi': 'the Cedi people/kingdom', 'pañcāla': 'the Pañcāla people/kingdom', 'sṛñjaya': 'the Sṛñjaya clan/warriors (often allied with Pañcālas)', 'samantāt': 'from all sides, on every side', 'drāvayan': 'driving away, routing, causing to flee', 'droṇaḥ': 'Droṇa (Droṇācārya)', 'brahma-śobhat': 'shone with brahman-like/sacred radiance

• splendid as if endowed with spiritual majesty', 'mārīṣa': 'O venerable one (address of respect)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Droṇācārya)
• Cekitāna
• Cedi warriors
• Pañcāla warriors
• Sṛñjaya warriors
• chariot
• horses
• charioteer
• battlefield

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the pressure of war, a commander’s disciplined prowess and resolve can decisively shift the field. It also hints at the tension between sacred ideals (suggested by 'brahmaśobhat', a brahman-like radiance) and the violent necessities of battle—an ethical contrast central to the Mahābhārata’s portrayal of dharma under strain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Droṇa observing Cekitāna’s chariot (with its horses and charioteer already killed) and then surveying the gathered Cedi, Pañcāla, and Sṛñjaya warriors. Droṇa attacks so effectively that he drives them away in all directions, appearing especially splendid and formidable at that moment.