Mahabharata 7.103.21 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 103, Shloka 21
भीमसेन-द्रोण-संग्रामः
Bhīmasena and Droṇa: Containment, Advance, and Recognition
तथा हि मुखवर्णो5यमनयोरिति मेनिरे । तावका वीक्ष्य मुक्त तौ विक्रोशन्ति सम सर्वश:
tathā hi mukhavarṇo ’yam anayor iti menire | tāvakā vīkṣya muktau tau vikrośanti samaṃ sarvaśaḥ ||
तथा हि मुखवर्णोऽयमनयोरिति मेनिरे । तावका वीक्ष्य मुक्तौ तौ विक्रोशन्ति समन्ततः ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective judgment and morale shift in war: when extraordinary warriors regain freedom of action, their visible radiance and reputation can overwhelm opponents psychologically. It also implies an ethical dimension of kṣatriya warfare—power must be restrained or released with discernment, because its effects extend beyond physical combat to the minds of all who witness it.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava soldiers, seeing Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna ‘released’ from the pressure of Droṇa and allied kings, perceive their faces as equally radiant and cry out in alarm from all sides. The imagery compares Droṇa’s terror to serpent and fire, and Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna to two blazing suns, emphasizing the sudden resurgence of their battlefield dominance.
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