Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Tenure of Drona in Kurukshetra.

Introduction; Drona is my favorite villain in Mahabharat and one of my favorite character's in Mahabharat too. I respect him unlike pajeet bhishma, karna, hanuman etc as those three people were never deserving of any izzat. But Drona is worthy of respect. He was one of the coolest mards of Kurukshetra.

This post is a tribute to the greatest warlord of aryavarth. His name is Drona but he only fought 2 wars (virat yudh & kurukshetra yudh).

Serving Bhishma.
Commentary; drona was allowed to take a backseat, he was not always on the front lines during this period, he was still a active fighter but not the top dog. He remained a sher in the battlefield but did not do anything major, still whatever he has done will be narrated here.
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The initial battles that Drona was involved in.
1st day.
Fought Dhrishtadyumn;
"Drona, then, in great wrath, cut off in that encounter the hard bow of the high-souled prince of Panchala that was capable of always taking the lives of foes. And at the same time he shot in that conflict a terrible arrow that was like a second rod of Death. And the arrow shot penetrated the body of the prince. Taking up then another bow and fourteen arrows, the son of Drupada pierced Drona in that encounter."
Saved Bhishma from the unit of ten (10) pandav warriors;
"Satyaki, and Bhimasena, and Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race; and the (five) Kekaya brothers, and Dhrishtaketu and Abhimanyu of great energy. And beholding them rushing (to the rescue), with Drona and Salya and Kripa that hero of immeasurable soul (Bhishma) checked them all like the mountain resisting the force of the wind."
As per Yudhisthir their was one warrior on the kuru side (barring Bhishma) that was annihlating the pandava army:
"This thy friend (Arjuna) alone (amongst) is conversant with (mighty) weapons. He, however, beholding us consumed by Bhishma and the high-souled Drona, looketh indifferently on us. The celestial weapons of Bhishma and the high-souled Drona, incessantly applied, are consuming all the Kshatriyas."

2nd day.
Drona helped general Bhishma create a vyuha:
"Then Bhishma and Drona and thy sons, O sire, formed a mighty array for resisting that of the Parthas."
Commentary;
Drona's battle with Dhrishtadyumn;
"Drona with diverse arrows pierced Dhrishtadyumna and felled the latter's charioteer from his niche in the car. And, O sire, the enraged hero also afflicted Dhrishtadyumna's four steeds with four excellent shafts. And the heroic Dhrishtadyumna too pierced Drona in the combat with nine sharp arrows. Then Bharadwaja's son of great prowess covered with his arrows the wrathful Dhrishtadyumna. And he took up a dreadful arrow for the destruction of Prishata's son whose force resembled that of Sakra's bolt and which was like a second rod of death. And beholding that arrow aimed by Bharadwaja in battle, loud cries of oh and alas arose, O Bharata, among all the combatants. And then we beheld the wonderful prowess of Dhrishtadyumna insomuch that the hero stood alone, immovable like a mountain."

"And he cut off that terrible and blazing arrow coming towards him like his own Death, and also showered an arrowy downpour on Bharadwaja's son. And beholding that difficult feat achieved by Dhrishtadyumna, the Panchalas with the Pandavas, filled with delight, set up loud shouts. And that prince, endued with great prowess, desirous of slaying Drona hurled at him a dart of great impetuosity, decked with gold and stones of lapis lazuli. Thereupon the son of Bharadwaja, smiling the while, cut off into three fragments that dart decked with gold that was coming towards him impetuously. Beholding his dart thus baffled, Dhrishtadyumna of great prowess rained arrowy downpours on Drona, O king."

"Then that mighty car-warrior Drona, baffling that arrowy shower, cut off when the opportunity presented, the bow of Drupada's son. His bow (thus) cut off in the combat, that mighty warrior of great fame hurled at Drona a heavy mace endued with the strength of the mountain. And hurled from his hands, that mace coursed through the air for Drona's destruction. And then we beheld the wonderful prowess of Bharadwaja's son. By (the) lightness (of his car's motion), he baffled that mace decked with gold, and having baffled it, he shot at Prishata's son many shafts of sharp edge, well-tempered, furnished with golden wings, and whetted on stone."

"And these, penetrating through Prishata's coat of mail, drank his blood in that battle. Then the high-souled Dhrishtadyumna, taking up another bow, and putting forth his prowess pierced Drona in that encounter with five shafts. And then those two bulls among men, both covered with blood, looked beautiful like two blossoming Kinsukas in spring variegated with flowers. Then, O king, excited with wrath and putting forth his prowess at the head of his division, Drona once more cut off the bow of Drupada's son. And then that hero of immeasurable soul covered that warrior whose bow was cut off, with innumerable straight arrows like the clouds showering rain on a mountain. And he also felled his foe's charioteer from his niche in the car. And his four steeds, too, with four sharp arrows, Drona felled in that combat that set up a leonine roar. And with another shaft he cut off the leathern fence that cased Dhrishtadyumna's hand."

"His bow cut off, deprived of car, his steeds slain, and charioteer overthrown, the prince of Panchala alighted from his car, mace in hand, displaying great prowess. But before he could come down from his car, O Bharata, Drona with his shafts cut off that mace into fragments. This feat seemed wonderful to us. And then the mighty prince of the Panchalas of strong arms, taking a large and beautiful shield decked with a hundred moons, and a large scimitar of beautiful make, rushed impetuously from desire of slaying Drona, like a hungry lion in the forest towards an infuriate elephant. Then wonderful was the prowess that we behold of Bharadwaja's son, and his lightness (of hand) in the use of weapons, as also the strength of his arms, O Bharata, in as much as, alone, he checked Prishata's son with a shower of arrows. And although possessed of great might in battle, he was unable to proceed further. And we behold the mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna staying where he did and warding off those clouds of arrows with his shield, using his arms with great dexterity. Then the mighty-armed Bhima endued with great strength quickly came there, desirous of aiding in battle the high-souled son of Prishata. And he pierced Drona, O king, with seven sharp-pointed arrows, and speedily caused Prishata's son to be taken up on another car. Then king Duryodhana urged the ruler of the Kalingas supported by a large division, for the protection of Bharadwaja's son."
My commentary; Their were multiple quote's this was a very long battle with extra detail by Sanjay, Vaishampayan and Souti etc, but it is clear Drona won after immense toil, effort & attempts. Since Dhrishtadyumn was superior to Parshuram, Bhisma, Suyodhan and karna (radha's son) as a warrior this is a big feat.

Targeting 2 aryan chief's (Drupad and Virat each led a aukshouni):
"Then that terrible and mighty division of the Kalingas, O ruler of men, rushed against Bhima at the command of thy son. And Drona then, that foremost of car-warriors, abandoning the prince of Panchala, encountered Virata and Drupada together."
My commentary; The first day had the pandav army being led by Sweta (1st son of Virat), the 2nday is when Dhrishtadyumns reign began, but Drona choose to fight this commander of the pandav army. It is true that Drona choose to fight Virat, Drupad etc but priot to that it was shown how Bheem interfered to protect Dhrishtadyumn.

End of the day:
"Thy sire Devavrata then, beholding the (Kuru) host routed, smilingly addressed the heroic son of Bharadwaja in the battle and said 'The warriors, who have all been tired and struck with panic, will never fight' Having said this unto Drona that best of preceptors, Bhishma, that mighty car-warrior, caused thy army to be withdrawn."
Aftermath; after all of this at the end of the seconday the student of Parshuram called "Bhishma" decided to withdraw his army and asked Drona to do the same. Keypoint; this was done by Bhishma initially, if bhishma never said to withdraw then Drona would have continued to fight, this day was a loss for their army due to a incompetent commander like Bhishma who favored hit and run style of warfare instead of trying to finish his job bhishma choose to retreat, but brave people like Drona never choose to run, they stay until they complete their goals, they live like shers and mards, not impotent kuttas like bhishma. Thoo on Bhishma.
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Middle portions of the war.
3rd day.
Quote 1:
"And in that terrible and awful battle, car-warriors were seen to run away in all directions. Then Bhishma and Drona, and Jayadratha, the ruler of the Sindhus and Purumitra, and Vikarna, and Sakuni the son of Suvala-these warriors invincible in battle and possessed of leonine prowess-staying in battle broke the ranks of the Pandavas."
Commentary; assisted by five other people Drona was able to massacre many insignificant chariot fighers.
Quote 2:
"And Drona and Bhishma, steadily struggling in battle, began to slaughter the division of king Yudhishthira the just, with sharp shafts furnished with the feathers of the Kanka bird."
Commentary; Drona was smart enough to start targetting Yudhisthir from day 3 itself, he knew that if you target the king and win then u win the war, and he did wonders by massacring many of the poeple in Yudhisthir's led army.
Aftermath; Post this incident in the link Duryodhan (Suyodhana) complains to Bhishma, he never complained to Drona as he knew if they suffered a loss it was always due to Bhishma's incapabilities.
End; this day ended wtih all kuru warriors retreating even Drona was scared of Arjuna so he left but not before bhishma did (as this napunsak aadmi was the first person to run away).
4th day.
What happened; Unfortunately this was a day that was boring for Drona, the best achievements for any warrior this day was done by Satyaki, then Bheem, then Abhimanyu. Once again it was Bhishma that ordered a retreat but came with a pretext for it, Drona had to unfortunately follow orders from the higher ranked officer in his army. Still Drona had not done anything significant for this battle.

Incidents; Drona was mentioned twice in chapter 60 first as being among those warriors that accompanied Bhishma second as being one of the people that group attacked Arjuna. Then Abhimanyu gets attention and Sanjay mentioned that Abhimanyu cut the weapons of all warriors (that includes Drona, Bhishma etc).
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Career struggles.
5th day.
Quote 1:
Drona penetrated into the Pandava array in the very sight of Satyaki. Then O Bharata, Satyaki checked the son of Bharadwaja, (and thereupon) ensued a battle that was fierce in its incidents and awful to behold. Then Bharadwaja's son excited with rage and endued with great prowess, as if smiling the while, pierced the grandson of Sini with ten shafts at his shoulder-joint. And Bhimasena also, excited with rage, pierced Bharadwaja's son (with many shafts), desirous of protecting Satyaki, O king, from Drona that foremost of all warriors.
Commentary; after being ordered by prince Suyodhana to kill the pandavas Drona attacked their vyooh it just so happened that he was in front of Satyaki, he then got checked by Satyaki's arrows, after that Drona fired 10 arrows on the shoulder of satyaki, next Bheem intervened with his own arrows, though Satyaki failed to retaliate this is not a complete defeat of him as he did not use his full power & the battle was interrupted, but this is impressive for Drona, compare this to Satyaki's encounters with Bhishma, Karna etc
Quote 2:
Then Drona and Bhishma, and Salya also, O sire, excited with rage, covered Bhimasena, in that battle, with their shafts. Thereupon Abhimanyu excited with wrath, and the sons of Draupadi, O sire, pierced with their sharp-pointed shafts all those warriors with upraised weapons.
Commentary; Drona engaged in this group assault, it was unethical on his part and he did deserve the response he recieved which was Abhimanyu injuring his body with more shafts.
Quote 3:
Then, O king, urged by thy son, Drona rushed to battle, desirous of protecting Bhishma in that stress. Sikhandin, however, approaching Drona that foremost of all wielders of weapons, avoided, from fear, that warrior resembling the blazing fire that appears at the end of the Yuga.
Commentary; over here Drona saved Bhishma, yet we here karna tards talk about karna saving drona from dhrishtadyumn on the 14th night, if we were to use ABC logic then Dhrishtadyumn should be above Parashuram and so should the namard karna who lost to foot soldiers of Ghatotkatch yet we never see Drona lose to a foot soldiers, regardless Sanjay clearly says that Drona saved Bhishma here from another loss. This was one of the 2 gems of Drona's career for Kurukshetra's 5th day the other is his encounter with Satyaki the same day.
Quote 4:
"Drupada and Chekitana, and that mighty car-warrior Satyaki engaged in battle with the high-souled Drona aided by his son."
Commentary; Drona only had Ashwathama on his side to aid him but Satyaki had 2 elite warriors on his side for support. The result of this battle is either unknown or inconclusive but Drona proved himself as a capable warrior here.
Quote 5:
"And Dhananjaya encountered Drona and Kripa, and Vikarna and many other kings, brave in battle, all mighty bowmen endued with great strength."
Basically; Satyaki ended up fighting with Shalya (odds were unfair for Shalya) but Drona ended up going after Arjun with the help of Jayadrath, Kripa and Vikarn. Drona does another group attack.
Quote 6:
And that mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna, that generalissimo (of the Pandava forces) of immeasurable soul, engaged in battle, O king, with Drona of fierce achievements.
Commentary; Dhrishtadyumn interfered in the battle of Drona and Arjun. So it was inconclusive. Though i accept that Arjun was better than Drona.

6th day.
Quote 1:
"Devavrata, beholding the (Pandava) army thus arrayed, disposed his army, O king, in counter-array after the form of a huge crane. And in its beak was Bharadwaja's son (Drona)."
Commentary; Drona's position was to be the beak of this crane formation.
Quote 2:
"Bhimasena the son of Kunti, endued with great prowess, beholding Drona rushed against the division of Bharadwaja's son, borne by his steeds of great fleetness. Then Drona, excited with wrath in that conflict and endued with great energy, pierced Bhima with nine shafts made wholly of iron, aiming his vital limbs."
Commentary; once he saw drona then bhima rushed to him but he was careless and got injured by 9 arrows from drona's bow
Quote 3:
"Deeply pierced by Bharadwaja's son in that conflict, Bhima despatched Drona's charioteer to the region of Yama. Thereupon the son of Bharadwaja, endued with great prowess, himself restraining his steeds, began to consume the Pandava army like fire consuming a heap of cotton."
Commentary; since he was injured by drona the character called "Bheem" chose to attack the defenceless driver that was also drona's fault as he failed to fullfill his responsibility of protecting his charioteer, but this does show Drona's superiority as a pure archer compared to bheema and to his credit drona was still able to damage his enemies army while multi tasking by driving his chariot and firing arrows
Quote 4:
"while thusp. 189slaughtered, O king, by Drona and Bhishma, the Srinjayas along with the Kekayas took to flight."
Commentary; though bhishma is mentioned the fact is that based on the previous quote it was Drona who was given more attention & he did more damage than bhishma he attacked the srinjaya and kekaya tribe's, another reason why drona's achievement is more impressive is because he did not have a driver, his charioteer was killed by bheem previously while bhishma still has the advantage of a driver, so Drona is better than namard ganga's namard son
Quote 5:
"that host is protected by Drona and Bhishma and by Kritavarman and Kripa and Dussasana, and others headed by Jayadratha. It is also protected by Bhagadatta and Vikarna by Drona's son, and Suvala's son, and Valhika and by many other mighty and high-souled heroes of the world. That our army should yet be slaughtered in battle is due only to predestined fate, O Sanjaya."
Commentary; this is what Dhritarashtra said to Sanjay about his army, even though Drona defended it still it was being slaughtered.
Quote 6:
Dhrishtadyumna the son of Prishata, forsaking Drona (with whom he had been engaged), quickly proceeded to the spot where Suvala's son was stationed
Commentary; this is evidence that Drona was fighting Dhrishtadyumn for a certain period of time, their battle ended without a result for reasons mentioned in the quote above
Quote 7:
"Drona, the foremost of all wielders of weapons, approaching Drupada, pierced him with three fierce shafts. And that monarch then, O king, Drupada, deeply pierced by Drona, left the battle, O Bharata, remembering his former hostility (with Bharadwaja's son). Thereupon Drona endued with great prowess having thus vanquished Drupada, blew his conch. And hearing the blare of his conch, all the Somakas were struck with fear."
Commentary; by defeating drupad this man (drona) showed that he is superior to karna, suyodhan, yuyutsu, duhsasan etc as a warrior because surya's son karna with many other warriors lost to one drupad.
Quote 8:
"Then Drona, possessed of great energy, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, heard of thy sons being deprived of their senses in battle with the Pramohana weapon. Then the son of Bharadwaja, desirous of rescuing the princes, speedily left that part of the field where he was and proceeded to the place where thy sons were. Bharadwaja's son of great prowess, there beheld Dhrishtadyumna and Bhima careering through the field in that dreadful conflict."
Commentary; drona was a good person, he cared about the life of dhritarashtra's sons, duryodhan's brothers etc, unlike bhishma and karna, this brave king Dronacharya decided to leave the task at hand so he could save the life of the kuru princes of hastinapur, he did well but if it was a bhishma or a karna then they wouldnt even bat a eye for the lives of duryodhan's innocent brothers.
Quote 9:
"And that mighty car-warrior beheld thy sons deprived of their senses. Taking up then the weapon called Prajna, he neutralised the Pramohana weapon (that Dhrishtadyumna had shot). Then thy sons those mighty car-warriors, when their senses returned, once more proceeded to battle with Bhima and Prishata's son."
Commentary: this weapon that Drona baffled was the same one used by Bhishma to defeat Parshuram that makes Drona superior to not just namard bhishma but even guru parshuram.
Quote 10:
"Causing Vrikodara then to be taken up on the car of the king of the Kaikeyas, he rushed in great wrath against Drona accomplished in arrow and all weapons. And that slayer of foes, viz., the valiant son of Bharadwaja, excited with rage, cut off with a broad-headed shaft the bow of Prishata's son who was rushing towards him with impetuosity. And remembering the bread he had eaten of his master and desirous of doing good to Duryodhana, he also sped hundreds of shafts after Prishata's son."
Commentary; Dhrishtadyumn made Bheem get on the chariot riden by Vrihatkshatra (a king of kekaya from the indus river valley) it should be known to everyone that Vrihatkshatra has brahmastra which makes him a better warrior than namard Hanuman. Regardless the important thing here is that Drona shot more than one hundred arrows at Dhrishtadyumn. He even cut his bow off.
Quote 11:
"Then that slayer of hostile heroes the son of Prishata, taking up another bow, pierced Drona with seventy shafts whetted on stone and furnished with wings of gold. Then that grinder of foes, viz., Drona, once more cut off his bow, and despatched his four steeds to Yama's abode with four excellent arrows, and also slew his charioteer, O Bharata, with a broad-headed shaft. Then that mighty car-warrior of strong arms, Dhrishtadyumna, quickly descending from that car whose steeds had been slain, ascended the great car of Abhimanyu."
Commentary; drona defeated the same dhrishtadyumn who while tired, wounded & outnumbered was able to defeat overrated karna
Quote 12:
"Then Drona caused the Pandava army consisting of cars, elephants, and steeds, to tremble, in the very sight of Bhimasena and the intelligent son of Prishata. Beholding then that army thus broken by Drona of immeasurable energy, all those mighty car-warriors were incapable of checking its flight. And that army, thus slaughtered by Drona with his sharp shafts, began to move in eddies there, like the agitated sea. And beholding the (Pandava) army in that condition, thy troops were filled with delight.
Commentary; it is clear that although bhishma was the leader their was only one warrior who was doing immense damage to the army of the pandavas and that warrior is Drona not bhishma
What led to the end of this day?
Quote: And the grandsire, having thus broken the ranks of the Pandavas at last withdrew his troops and retired, O king, to his encampment. And king Yudhishthira also, beholding both Dhrishtadyumna and Vrikodara, smelt their heads, and filled with joy, retired to his tents.
Commentary; it was because bhishma decided to retire early, if you read the previous quotes and mahabharat unbiasedly you will find that Drona was doing most of the heavylifting he was putting in work while bhishma was sitting their like a helpless kutta

On the 6th night this is what Duryodhan said to namard Bhishma:
"Then thy son, O king, overwhelmed with anxiety and covered with blood trickling down asked the grandsire," saying "Our troops are fierce and terrible and carry innumerable standards. They are, again, arrayed properly. Yet the brave and mighty car-warriors of the Pandavas, having penetrated (into our array) and afflicted and slaughtered (our troops), escaped unhurt."
        "Confounding us all, they have won great fame in battle. Bhima again, having penetrated into our Makara array which was strong as the thunder-bolt, afflicted me with his terrible shafts each resembling the rod of Death."
Commentary; he did not go to Drona or blame him as he knew Drona was active and the reason for their army being defeated was his grandfather bhishma not master Drona. Also this quote is shown by me because i want to prove that the kauravs lost on the 6th day, they did not win, so this bhishma did not beat the army of real men like the pandavas.
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Drona's comeback.
7th day.
Quote 1:
"And Bharadwaja's son proceeded against the king of the Matsyas, and his son (Aswatthaman) against Sikhandin."
Commentary; it just says he went to virat, a battle was not described.
Quote 2:
"Meanwhile, Bharadwaja's son pierced with his winged arrows the king of the Matsyas in battle. And in that combat he cut off the latter's standard with one shaft, and his bow also with another. Then Virata the commander of a large division, leaving aside that bow thus cut off, quickly took up another that was strong and capable of bearing a great strain. And he also took up a number of blazing arrows that resembled snakes of virulent poison. And he pierced Drona in return with three (of these) and his (four) steeds with four."
Quote 3:
"And then he pierced Drona's standard with one arrow, and his charioteer with five. And he also pierced Drona's bow with one arrow, and (at all this) that bull among Brahmanas became highly angry. Then Drona slew Virata's steeds with eight straight shafts, and then his charioteer, O chief of the Bharatas, with one shaft. His charioteer having been slain, Virata jumped down from his car whose steeds also had been killed. And then that foremost of car-warriors speedily mounted upon the car of (his son) Sankha."
Quote 4:
"Then sire and son, staying on the same car, began with great might to resist the son of Bharadwaja with a thick shower of arrows. Then the mighty son of Bharadwaja, excited with wrath, quickly shot at Sankha in that encounter, an arrow resembling a snake of virulent poison. And that arrow, piercing through Sankha's breast and drinking his blood, fell upon the earth, wet and smeared with gore. Struck with that arrow of Bharadwaja's son, Sankha speedily fell down from his car, his bow and arrows loosened from his grasp in the very presence of his sire. And beholding his son slain, Virata fled from fear, avoiding Drona in battle, who resembled Death's self with gasping mouth."
Quote 5:
"The son of Bharadwaja then, without losing a moment, checked the mighty host of the Pandavas resisting combatants by hundreds and thousands."
Quote 6:
"Drona also, who always does what is agreeable to thy son, inflamed with wrath in that battle, began to consume the Panchalas like fire consuming a heap of cotton."
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The fall of Drona as a warrior.

8th day.
Quote 1:
Drona excited with wrath, rushed against the Somakas and the Srinjayas, desirous of sending them to the abode of Yama. Thereupon loud cries of woe arose among the brave Srinjayas while they were being slaughtered. O king, by Bharadwaja's son bow in hand. Large numbers of Kshatriyas, struck down by Drona, were seen to all convulsing like persons writhing in the agony of disease.
Commentary; the people Drona slayed here were likely irrelevant characters.
Quote 2:
Beholding, however, the prowess of Drona, the Pandavas were struck with fear. Indeed they thought, 'Alone, Drona can slay us with all our troops. What then should be said of him when he is surrounded by a large body of warriors who for their bravery are renowned over the world? Even this, O king, was what the Partha said, afflicted by Drona
Commentary; Drona created the most fear among the pandav army, he was considered the most lethal threat.
Quote 3:
Beholding them advancing filled with wrath and in great fury, Bharadwaja's son addressing the mighty car-warriors (of thy side), said these words "Go quickly, blessed be ye, and protect the king. Sinking in an ocean of distress, he is placed in a situation of great danger. These mighty car-warriors of the Pandava army, these great bowmen, placing Bhimasena at their head, are rushing towards Duryodhana, shooting and hurling diverse kinds of weapons, resolved upon winning success, uttering terrible shouts, and frightening the kings (on your side)."
Commentary: unlike bhishma and karna this drona character actually had a backup plan, he knew that he alone would not be enough so he had a unit of warriors assist him in the upcoming battle. Something even a namard like "hanuman" would not be able to think of.
Quote 4:
"The mighty-armed son of Bharadwaja also, having said those words stretched his own large bow and pierced Bhima with six and twenty arrows. And once again that mighty car-warrior speedily covered Bhimasena with a shower of arrows like a mass of clouds dropping torrents of rain on the mountain-breasts in the rainy season. That mighty bowman Bhimasena, however, of great strength, speedily pierced him in return with ten shafts on the left side. Deeply pierced with those arrows and exceedingly pained, O Bharata, the preceptor, enfeebled as he is with age, suddenly sat down on the terrace of his car, deprived of consciousness."
Commentary; drona was defeated its true, but the fact is that his age was listed as the reason (by Sanjay) otherwise its possible he may not have been beaten.
Quote 5:
Drona and Duryodhana and Salya and Aswatthaman, and other great bowmen that were regarded as foremost among the Kauravas, also seemed to fly away. All the car-warriors seemed to be crushed, and all the kings seemed to be slain. And horses and horse-riders seemed to be cut down in thousands. Beholding all this, thy troops fled away towards their tents. And although, O king, both myself and Devavrata cried out at the top of our voices "Fight, do not fly away, all this is Rakshasa illusion in battle, applied by Ghatotkacha"
Commentary; only Sanjay and Bhishma knew that it was a illusion, regardless this is unfortunately a defeat of Drona's career, even his son Ashwathama lost.
Quote 6:
"Then, O king, thy sons, surrounding Drona like the Vasus surrounding Vasava, rushed in the battle against Bhimasena."
Quote 7:
Then like the clouds pouring torrents of rain on the mountain breast, Drona in that battle covered with arrows from every side that hero who was thus consuming thy sons. The prowess that we then beheld of Kunti's son was exceedingly wonderful, for though held in check by Drona, he still slew thy sons. Indeed, as a bull beareth a shower of rain falling from above. Bhima cheerfully bore that shower of arrows shot by Drona. Wonderful, O monarch, was the feat that Vrikodara achieved there, for he slew thy sons in that battle and resisted Drona the while.

9th day.
Quote 1:
"son of Subhadra careered on the field on his car whose limbs were decked with gold, people were incapable of finding an opportunity (for striking him). Confounding Kripa and Drona and mighty son of Drona, as also the ruler of the Sindhus, the great bowman moved on the field of battle with great activity and skill. As he consumed thy troops, O Bharata, I beheld his bow incessantly drawn to a circle and resembling on that account the circular halo of light that is sometimes seen around the Sun."
Commentary; after this incident duryodhan tells the raksh warrior Alamvus to focus on Abhimanyu while bhishma with drona will focus on arjun, now i myself have concluded that drona unfortunately failed to prove his power over abhimanyu, he seemed to have lost form and finally the war is starting to tire drona out which is why he isnt performing to the best of his potential as this is a clear defeat with the help of Jaydrath, Ashwathama and Kripa still Drona lost
https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06101.htm
Quote 2:
"Desirous, O king, of rescuing, his son who was afflicted by the Vrishni hero, Drona, in that great battle, pierced the latter with a shaft of exceeding sharpness. Satyaki then, abandoning the mighty car-warrior Aswatthaman, pierced Drona himself in that battle with twenty arrows of exceeding sharpness. Soon after, that scorcher of foes and mighty car-warrior, viz., Kunti's son of immeasurable soul, excited with wrath, rushed in that battle against Drona. Then Drona and Partha encountered each other in fierce combat like the planets Budha and Sukra."
Commentary; firstly ashwathama was injured by satyaki and was losing to him, then drona came to achieve two goals one protecting ashwathama two killing or beating Satyaki, unfortunately Drona ended up getting hurt by Satyaki & before Drona could fight back parth arjun interfered he rushed to drona. Though he's my favorite character its obvious that he has now entered a loss streak his downfall began on the previous day, hopefully he can rise back up and enter a resurgance stage
Quote 3:
Partha pierced Drona with three shafts. Drona, however, regarded not those shafts shot in battle from Partha's bow. Indeed, Partha once more covered the preceptor in the fight with a shower of arrows. Thereupon the latter blazed up with wrath like a conflagration in a deep forest. Then, O king, Drona soon covered Arjuna in that combat with many straight shafts, O Bharata.
Commentary; The first 3 arrows of arjun failed to even faze Drona so Arjun injured him even more then Drona retaliated, but the problem is that arjun injured drona more than the opposite happened so arjun gets more points here in his favor.
Quote 4:
Then Drona, beholding the fierce Vayavya weapon, himself shot an awful weapon called the Saila. And when that weapon, O ruler of men, was shot by Drona in that battle, the wind abated and the ten quarters became calm.
Commentary; arjun used the vayavyastra to dismantle the trigart army, but drona baffled it with his own weapon sailastra after this arjun slew many trigartas infront of drona but it seemed like both warriors avoided fighting eachother, as drona and arjun did not clash after this paragraph/quote. In a way he redeemed himself against Arjun.
Quote 5:
"And so king Drupada also, having pierced Drona with many whetted shafts, once more pierced him with seventy shafts and his charioteer with nine. The valiant Drona, pierced the latter's charioteer also, Then, O king, Drupada, thus afflicted at the head of his troops, retreated by the aid of his fleet steeds, recollecting the hostility that existed from days of old (between himself and Drona)."
Quote 6:
Drona (on the other hand), having pierced Satyaki, pierced Bhimasena next. And he pierced each of them with five sharp shafts, each of which resembled the rod of Death. Each of those two, however, pierced Drona, that bull among Brahmanas, in return, with three straight shafts.
Commentary; this was a brave move by drona but it was too risky and reckless for him to challenge 2 top tiers at once

10th day.
Quote 1:
Bharadwaja's son, exerting himself with vigour in battle, resisted the eldest Pandava, that is to say, king Yudhishthira the just, who was desirous of Bhishma's death.
Quote 2:
"And so the heroic Pandavas also, O king, rushed in. battle against thy sons."
Commentary; based on the earlier quote yudhisthir was fighitng drona, but then in this quote he chose to run away and fight a brother of Suyodhan instead.
Quote 3:
"Bharadwaja's son resisted Yudhishthira the son of Kunti, who, accompanied by a large force, was coming towards Bhishma. Hearing the rattle of Drona's car, O king, that resembled the roar of the clouds, the Prabhadrakas, O sire, began to tremble. That large force, of Pandu's son, resisted by Drona in battle, could not, exerting vigorously, advance even one step."
Quote 4:
"The heroic Drona, was engaged in afflicting the Pandava ranks, having penetrated into their midst."
Quote 5:
"Meanwhile Drona, noticing an opening, pierced Bhimasena, O bull of Bharata's race, with eight keen shafts furnished with heads shaped after the frog's mouth. Bhima, however, ever delighting in battle, pierced the preceptor, who was worthy of paternal reverence, with five broad-headed arrows, and then, O Bharata, with sixty."
Quote 6:
"Drona, encountering Dhrishtadyumna the prince of the Panchalas in dreadful battle, fought fiercely with his straight shafts. Then Drona, O king, having cut off the large bow of Prishata's son, pierced him deeply with fifty arrows. Then that slayer of hostile heroes, the son of Prishata, taking up another bow, sped at Drona who was contending with him, many arrows. The mighty car-warrior Drona however, cut off all those arrows, striking them with his own. And then Drona sped at Drupada's son five fierce shafts. Then that slayer of hostile heroes, the son of Prishata, excited with rage, hurled at Drona in that battle a mace resembling the rod of Death himself."
Quote 7:
"Drona however, with fifty arrows checked that mace decked with gold as it coursed impetuously towards him. Thereupon that mace, cut into fragments, O king, by those shafts shot from Drona's bow, fell down on the earth. Then that scorcher of foes the son of Prishata, beholding his mace baffled, hurled at Drona an excellent dart made wholly of iron. Drona, however, O Bharata, cut that dart with nine shafts in that battle and then afflicted that great bowman, the son of Prishata."

Drona rises to power:
"Then Dussasana of Kuru's race informed Drona of Bhishma's slaughter. Drona then, hearing those evil tidings, suddenly fell down from his car. Then the valiant son of Bharadwaja, quickly recovering his senses, forbade the Kuru army, sire, to continue the fight. Beholding the Kurus desist from battle, the Pandavas also, through messengers on fleet horses, forbade their orders, ceased to fight, the kings of both armies, putting off their armour, all repaired to Bhishma."
Commentary; it seemed like he automatically assumed the role of commander from here as it was Drona who started ordering the army, so maybe he was commander from days ten to fifteen.
------------------------
Early days as chief.
Intro - now that Drona was made general he was given more responsibilities & control over his lord Suyodhan's army. Also he had to allow one of his pupils "Karna" to enter with his half a dozen sons, and a whole army of his nation (anga). Unfortunately in the future of Drona's life this presence of Karna would go on to be more of a backlash rather than a profit for his army.

11th DAY.
Drona's swiftness in battle;
Then he, of the golden car, (Drona) like the Sun himself of great splendour, crushing the ranks of the Pandavas, careered through them at will. And the Pandavas, and the Srinjayas, through fear, regarded that single warrior of great activity upon his quickly-moving car as if multiplied into many. Shot by him, terrible shafts coursed in all directions, frightening, O king, the army of Pandu's son.
Carnage of Dhrishtadyumn & Drupad's armies;
The valiant son of Bharadwaja then, having confound the (hostile) troops, speedily began to consume the division of Dhrishtadyumna by means of sharp shafts. And covering and obstructing all the points of the compass by means of his straight shafts, he began to crush the Pandava force even there, where Prishata's son was.
Drona vs Drupad;
Drona, having pierced the ruler of the Panchalas with ten shafts, was, in return, pierced by the latter with many shafts. And the latter was again pierced by Drona with a larger number of shafts.
Commentary; this is an impressive feat because Drupad not only defeated Suyodhan, Karna, Yuyutsu and Duhsasan many years ago he also after this incident (despite being injured by Drona) was able to hold his own against Bhagdatt this Drupada character stabbed Bhagdatt in the chest with a arrow.
Drona defeats Yudhisthir;
Then Yudhishthira pierced the preceptor with many whetted arrows equipped with Kanka feathers; Drona, however, cutting off Yudhishthira's bow, rushed impetuously at him.
Drona fights a warrior who can shoot 1 thousand arrows;
Having checked Drona in battle, the mighty Kumara, endued with great lightness of hand, and above all fatigue, pierced him with many thousands of arrows. Then that bull among men (Drona) slew that protector of Yudhishthira's car-wheels, Kumara, that hero observant of virtuous vows and accomplished in both mantras and weapons.

Drona vs 12 warriors at once;
Bharadwaja's son, became the protector of thy troops. And piercing Sikhandin with twelve arrows, and Uttamaujas with twenty, and Nakula with five, and Sahadeva with seven, and Yudhishthira with twelve, and each of the (five) sons of Draupadi with three, and Satyaki with five, and the ruler of Matsyas with ten arrows, and agitating the entire host in that battle, he rushed against one after another of the foremost warriors.
Commentary; counting the amount of arrows he shot in this passage alone adds up to Drona shooting 86 arrows with accuracy

Drona murders Yugandhar;
Bharadwaja's son, however, having pierced Yudhishthira with many straight arrows, felled Yugandhara with a broad-headed shaft from his niche in the car.
Drona kills 2 officers;
Then the mighty son of Bharadwaja, putting forth his prowess, cut off with a couple of broad-headed arrows the heads decked with earrings from the trunks of both Singhasena and Vyaghradatta.
Commentary; compare that to karna or bhishma who in many days could not slay one relevant person, it is true Bhishma slayed Sweta on day 1 but the problem is that he is limited to just one officer unlike Drona who could slay 2 or more per day, Bhishma didn't slay any importnat warrior from days 2 to 9. Karna did not slay important officers from days 11 to 14.
Drona had Yudhisthir beat:
afflicting also, with his arrowy showers, the other mighty car-warriors of the Pandavas, he stood in front of Yudhishthira's car, like all-destroying Death himself. Then, O king, loud cries were heard among the warriors of Yudhishthira's army to the effect, 'The king is slain,' when Bharadwaja's son, of regulated vows, thus, stood in his vicinity. And the warriors there all exclaimed, beholding Drona's prowess, 'Today the royal son of Dhritarashtra will be crowned with success. This very moment Drona having seized Yudhishthira, will, filled, with joy, assuredly come to us and Duryodhana's presence. While thy soldiers were indulging in such talks, Kunti's son (Arjuna) quickly came there
Commentary; he could have ended the entire war this day.
Dron loses to Arjun;
"diadem-decked (Arjuna) suddenly came upon Drona's divisions, covering it with a thick net-work of arrows and confounding the very sense (of those that followed Drona). Incessantly placing his arrows on the bow-string and quickly shooting them, none could notice any lapse of time between these two acts of the renowned son of Kunti."
"Neither friend nor foe could any longer be distinguished. Then Drona and Duryodhana and others caused the withdrawan of their troops."
OVERALL: Drona was the most active warrior this day besides Abhimanyu.

12th day
First fight;
"Prishata's son, quickly covering Durmukha, with a shower of arrows, checked Bharadwaja's son also with a thick arrowy downpour. Beholding Drona checked, thy son Durmukha quickly rushed at Prishata's son and confounded him with clouds of arrows of diverse kinds."
Commentary; i almost lost respect for him because drona was aided by prince durmukh yet still failed to pass Dhrishtadyumn until Drona himself decided to target other opponents after the above quote.
Drona attacks Yudhisthir's army:
"And while the prince of the Panchalas and that foremost one of Kuru's race were thus engaged in battle, Drona consumed many sections of Yudhishthira's host. As a mass of clouds is dispersed in different directions by the wind, even so was Yudhisthira's host, in many parts of the field, scattered by Drona. For only a short while did that battle look like an ordinary combat. And then, O king, it became an encounter of infuriated persons in which no consideration was shown for anybody."
Commentary; this is not a impressive achievement worthy of a top tier mard, as all he did was strike normal warriors.
Drona confounding the senses of unknown warriors (his foes):
When all the warriors, each bearing particular signs, were covered with arrowy showers, there was none amongst them lost heart, though all were deprived of their signs. In that fierce and awful battle, Drona confounding the senses of his foes, (at last) rushed at Yudhishthira.
Commentary; one can infer these oppoenents were the gaurds of Yudhisthir. In anycase it seems like Drona skillfully and logically was able to avoid dhrishtadyumn, abhimanyu, ghatotkatch, bheem, satyaki, yuyutsu, nakul and pandya along with many other warriors he got so close to the heart of the pandav army (their king Yudhisthir), he was trying to go after the main player.

Satyajit vs Drona:
"Then Drona, beholding Yudhishthira near him fearlessly received him with a thick shower of arrows. And there arose a loud noise among the troops of Yudhishthira's army like what is made by the elephants belonging to a herd when their leader is attacked by a mighty lion. Beholding Drona, the brave Satyajit, of prowess incapable of being baffled, rushed at the Preceptor who was desirous of seizing Yudhishthira. Then Satyajit, of prowess incapable of being baffled, invoking a mighty weapon, pierced Drona with keen-pointed arrows. And Satyajit shot at Drona's charioteer five arrows, fatal as snake-poison and each looking like Death himself. The charioteer, thus struck, became deprived of his senses. Then Satyajit quickly pierced Drona's steeds with ten shafts; and filled with rage, he next pierced each of his Parshni drivers with ten shafts."
"And then he coursed at the head of his troops on his car in a circular motion. Excited with wrath, he cut off the standard of Drona, that crushers of foes Drona then, that chastiser of foes, beholding these feats of his foe in battle, mentally resolved to despatch him to the other world. The Preceptor cutting off Satyajit's bow with arrow fixed thereon, quickly pierced him with ten arrows capable of penetrating into the very vitals. Thereupon, the valiant Satyajit, quickly taking up another bow, struck Drona, O king, with thirty arrows winged with the feathers of the Kanka bird. Beholding Drona (thus) encountered in battle by Satyajit, the Pandayas, O king, shouted in joy and waved their garments. Then the mighty Vrika, O king, excited with great wrath, pierced Drona in the centre of the chest with sixty arrows. That feat seemed highly wonderful. Then that mighty car-warrior, Drona, of great impetuosity, covered with the arrowy showers (of his foes) opened his eyes wide and mustered all his energy. Then cutting off the bows of both Satyajit and Vrika, Drona, with six shafts slew Vrika with his charioteer and steeds."
Yudhisthir's 1st retreat this day against Drona:
"Then Satyajit, taking up another bow that was tougher, pierced Drona with his steeds, his charioteer, and his standard. Thus afflicted in battle by the prince of the Panchalas, Drona could not brook that act. For the destruction then of his foe, he quickly shot his arrows (at him). Drona then covered with incessant showers of arrows his antagonist's steeds and standards as also the handle of his bow, and both his Parshni drivers. But though his bows were (thus) repeatedly cut off, the prince of the Panchalas conversant with the highest weapons continued to battle with him of red steeds. Beholding Satyajit swell with energy in that dreadful combat, Drona cut off that illustrious warrior's head with a crescent-shaped arrow. Upon the slaughter of that foremost of combatants, that mighty car-warrior among the Panchalas, Yudhishthira, from fear of Drona, fled away, (borne) by fleet steeds."

"Then the Panchalas, the Kekayas, the Matsyas, the Chedis, the Karushas and the Kosalas, seeing Drona, rushed at him, desirous of rescuing Yudhishthira. The Preceptor, however, that slayer of large numbers of foes, desirous of seizing Yudhishthira, began to consume those divisions, like fire consuming heaps of cotton. Then Satanika, the younger brother of the ruler of the Matsyas, rushed at Drona who was thus engaged in incessantly destroying those divisions (of the Pandava host). And Satanika, piercing Drona along with his driver and steeds with six shafts, bright as the rays of the sun and polished by his hands of their forger, uttered loud shouts. And engaged in a cruel act, and endeavouring to accomplish what was difficult of attainment, he covered Bharadwaja's son, that mighty car-warrior with showers of arrows. Then Drona, with an arrow sharp as razor, quickly cut off from his trunk the head, decked with ear-rings of Satanika, shouting at him. Thereupon, the Matsya warriors all fled away. Having vanquished the Matsyas, the son of Bharadwaja then defeated the Chedis, the Karushas, the Kaikeyas, the Panchalas, the Srinjayas. and the Pandus repeatedly."

"Beholding that hero of the golden car, excited with rage and consuming their divisions, like a fire consuming a forest, the Srinjayas trembled (with fear). Endued with great activity and slaughtering the foe ceaselessly, the twang of the bow-string, as he stretched his bow, was heard in all directions. Fierce arrows shot by that warrior endued with great lightness of hand, crushed elephants and steeds and foot-soldiers and car-warriors and elephant-riders. As a mighty mass of roaring clouds in summer with violent winds (blowing) poureth a shower of hail-stones, so did Drona pour his arrowy showers and inspired fear in the hearts of his foes. That mighty hero, that great bowman, that dispeller of the fears of his friends, careered in all directions (of the field) agitating the (hostile) host. The bow, decked with gold, of Drona of immeasurable energy, was seen in all directions like the flashes of lightning in the clouds. The beautiful altar on his banner, as he careered in battle, O Bharata, was seen to resemble a crest or Himavat. The slaughter that Drona caused among the Pandava troops was very great, resembling that caused by Vishnu himself, the adored of both the gods and Asuras, among the Daitya host.
Drona causes a river of blood to be formed;
"Heroic, truthful in speech, endued with great wisdom and might, and possessed of prowess incapable of being baffled, the illustrious Drona caused a river to flow there that was fierce and capable of striking the timid with fear. Coats of mail formed its waves, and standards its eddies. And it carried away (as it ran) large numbers of mortal creatures. And elephants and steeds constituted its great alligators, and swords formed its fishes. And it was incapable of being easily crossed over."
Drona vs a team;
Then Sikhandin pierced Drona with five straight arrows. And Kshatradharman pierced him with twenty arrows, and Vasudeva with five. And Uttamaujas pierced him with three arrows, and Kshatradeva with five. And Satyaki pierced him in that battle with a hundred arrows, and Yudhamanyu with eight. And Yudhishthira pierced Drona with a dozen shafts, and Dhrishtadyumna pierced him with ten, and Chekitana with three. Then Drona, of unbaffled aim and resembling an elephant with rent temples, getting over the car-division (of the Pandavas), overthrew Dridhasena. Approaching then king Kshema who was battling fearlessly, he struck him with nine arrows. Thereupon, Kshema, deprived of life, fell down from his car. Getting then into the midst of the (hostile) troops, he careered in all directions, protecting others, but himself in no need of Protection. He then pierced Sikhandin with twelve arrows, and Uttamaujas with twenty. And he despatched Vasudeva with a broad-headed arrow to the abode of Yama.
comment; it was him versus thirteen warriors & still he managed to finish off at least 3 of the captains that fought him (kshema, vasudeva, dridhasen)
Making Yudhisthir abandon the war;
And he pierced Kshemavarman with eighty arrows, and Sudakshina with six and twenty. And he felled Kshatradeva with a broad-headed arrow from his niche in the car. And having pierced Yudhamanyu with sixty-four arrows and Satyaki with thirty, Drona, of the golden car, quickly approached Yudhishthira. Then Yudhishthira, that best of kings, quickly fled away from the preceptor, borne by his fleet steeds.
commentary; this is a very rare achievement, this is the 2nd time drona created such a situation, this feat is unsurpassed to make the king of pandavas retreat twice in a single chapter
Winning against Satyaki and others.
Then Panchala rushed at Drona. Drona slew the prince, cutting off his bow, and felling his steeds and charioteer along with him. Deprived of life, the prince fell down on the earth from his car, like a luminary loosened from the firmament. Upon the fall of that illustrious prince of the Panchalas, loud cries were heard thereof, 'Slay Drona, Slay Drona!' The mighty Drona then began to crush and mangle the Panchalas, the Matsyas, the Kaikeyas, the Srinjayas, and the Pandavas, all excited with rage. And supported by the Kurus, Drona, then vanquished Satyaki and Chekitana's son, and Senavindu, and Suvarchas, all these and numerous other kings. Thy warriors, O king, having obtained the victory in that great battle, slew the Pandavas as they flew away in all directions.
Upto 6 tribes & armies were beaten by Drona:
"Beholding the Panchalas, the Pandavas, the Matsyas, the Srinjayas, the Chedis, the Kalikeyas, thus routed after being broken in battle by Drona with his shafts, beholding them thus driven from the field by those showers of fleet arrows shot from Drona's, bow, like vessels sent adrift by the awful waves of the tempest-tossed ocean."
Commentary; drona was a lone wolf warrior that did this his actions show him as the lone wolf type but his power is greater than multiple lions & tigers combined.
Next mention of Drona:
"I, however, followed Drona."
Commentary; sanjay claims he followed Drona on the battlefield.
Dhrishtadyumn vs Drona;
"Then Drona, coming upon the Pandava divisions by thousands, and careering over the field, broke them by means of his whetted shafts. When these were being thus crushed by Drona of wonderful achievements, Dhrishtadyumna, the generalissimo of the Pandava host, filled with rage himself checked Drona.."
Drona confronting Bheem:
"Drona then, desirous of slaying Bhima, quickly struck the latter, in his very vitals, many straight and whetted shafts of keen edge. Desirous again of allowing no time, he once more struck him with, six and twenty shafts whose touch resembled that of fire and which were all like snakes of virulent poison. Then Karna pierced him with a dozen shafts, and Aswatthaman with seven, and king Duryodhana also with six. The mighty Bhimasena, in return, pierced them all."
"He struck Drona with fifty shafts, and Karna with ten. And piercing Duryodhana with a dozen shafts, and Drona with eight, he engaged in that battle uttering a loud shout. In that encounter in which the warriors fought reckless of their lives and in which death was easy of attainment, Ajatasattru despatched many warriors, urging them to rescue Bhima."
"others headed by Yuyudhana, quickly proceeded to Bhimasena's side. And those bulls among men, filled with rage and uniting together, advanced to battle, desirous of breaking the army of Drona that was protected by many foremost of bowmen. Indeed, those great car-warriors of mighty energy, Bhima and others, fell furiously upon Drona's host. Drona, however, that foremost of car warriors, received without any anxiety, all those mighty car-warriors, of great strength,--those heroes accomplished in battle."
Then Drona and Kripa, and Karna and Drona's son, and king Jayadratha, and Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, and Salya, received those heroes. Those irresistible and invincible warriors, however, viz., the Panchalas and the Pandavas, inspired by noble sentiments, did not, though afflicted with shafts, avoid Drona. Then Drona, excited with great rage, shot hundreds of shafts, and caused a great carnage amongst the Chedis, the Panchalas, and the Pandavas. The twang of his bowstring and the slaps of his palms, were, O sire, heard on all sides. And they resembled the roar of thunder and struck fear into the hearts of all.
Rescuer of karna:
Sini's grandson also, of splendour equal to that of Indra himself, taking up another bow pierced Suta's son with four and sixty shafts and roared like a lion. And cutting off Karna's bow with a couple of well-shot shafts, he once more pierced Karna on the arms and the chest with three arrows. The king Duryodhana, and Drona and Jayadratha, rescued Karna from the Satyaki-ocean, as the former was about to sink into it.
----------------------
Worst day as chief.
13th day
Dron's promise:
O sire, I tell the truly today and it will not be otherwise. Today, I will slay a mighty car-warrior, one of the foremost heroes of the Pandavas. Today I will also form an array that impenetrable by the very gods. Do, however, O king, by some means take Arjuna away from the field. There is nothing that he doth not know or cannot achieve in battle. From various places hath he acquired all that is to be known about battle. [end quote]
Commentary; Drona proved his talent again he showed how smart he was because after bhagadatta's death their is not a single warrior on his army who could counter the power of Arjun.
Dron's 1st move:
After Drona had said these words, the Samsaptakas once more challenged Arjuna to battle and took him away to the southern side of the field. Then an encounter took place between Arjuna and his enemies, the like of which had never been seen or heard of. On the other hand, the array formed by Drona, O king, looked resplendent.
Commentary; The plan of Drona was a success, it is clear when it comes to strategy, tactics, critical thinking Drona was above all the warriors in the kuru army.

The vyooh Drona created:
"The preceptor, O king, had formed the great circular array. In it were placed all the kings (of our side). At the entrance were stationed all the princes possessed of solar effulgence. All of them had taken oaths (about standing by one another). All of them had standards decked with gold. All of them were attired in red robes, and all had red ornaments. All of them had red banners and all were adorned with garlands of gold, smeared with sandal-paste and other perfumed unguents; they were decked with floral wreaths. In a body they rushed towards Arjuna's son, desirous of battle. Firm bowmen, all they numbered ten thousand. Placing thy handsome grandson, Lakshmana, at their head, all of them, sympathising with one another in joy and grief, and emulating one another in feats of courage, desiring to excel one another, and devoted to one another's good, they advanced to battle."
"Duryodhana, O monarch, was stationed in the midst of his forces. And the king was surrounded by the mighty car-warriors, Karna, Duhsasana, and Kripa, and had a white umbrella held over his head. And fanned with yak tails, he looked resplendent like the chief of the celestials. And at the head of that army was the commander Drona looking like the rising sun. And there stood the ruler of the Sindhus, of great beauty of person, and immovable like the cliff of Meru. Standing by the side of the ruler of the Sindhus and headed by Aswatthaman, were, O king, thy thirty sons, resembling the very gods. There also on Jayadratha's flank, were those mighty car-warriors, the ruler of Gandhara, the gamester (Sakuni), and Salya, and Bhurisrava." [end quote]
Commentary; just read the bold text all suryaputr karn (son of surya and radha and kunti not gandhari's) was giving Duryodhan an umbrella as if he was at a vacation or field trip but he was doing nothing unlike Drona who was behaving like a hardworking champion and placing his warriors in perfect positions, when Drona was on the frontlines, karna was just braying like a donkey.
Sanjay's description of the battle's begininng:
"Then commenced, the battle, fierce, and making the hairs stand on their ends, between thy warriors and those of the foe. And both sides fought, making death itself the goal."
Commentary; this last line shows that the people to attack the chakravyooh were not only "abhimanyu" their were more people, it was an army versus an army, it is likely the pandav army made an attempt to attack the chakravyooh but they failed in their earliest attempt

The warriors who jointly attacked Drona;
Bhimasena, approached that invincible array protected by Bharadwaja's son. And Satyaki, and Chekitana, and Dhrishtadyumna. the son of Prishata, and Kuntibhoja of great prowess, and the mighty car-warrior Drupada. and Arjuna's son (Abhimanyu), and Kshatradharman, and the valiant Vrihatkshatra, and Dhrishtaketu, the ruler of the Chedis, and the twin sons of Madri, and Ghatotkacha, and the powerful Yudhamanyu and the unvanquished Sikhandin, and the irresistible Uttamaujas and the mighty car-warrior Virata, and the five sons of Draupadi,--these all excited with wrath, and the valiant son of Sisupala, and the Kaikeyas of mighty energy, and the Srinjayas by thousands,--these and others, accomplished in weapons and difficult of being resisted in battle, suddenly rushed, at the head of their respective followers, against Bharadwaja's son, from a desire of battle.
Drona won against them all;
The valiant son of Bharadwaja, however, fearlessly checked all those warriors, as soon as they came near, with a thick shower of arrows. Like a mighty wave of waters coming against an impenetrable hill, or the surging sea itself approaching its bank, those warriors were pushed back by Drona. And the Pandavas, O king, afflicted by the shafts shot from Drona's bow, were unable to stay before him. And the strength of Drona's arms that we saw was wonderful in the extreme, inasmuch as the Panchalas and the Srinjayas failed to approach him. Beholding Drona advancing in rage. Yudhishthira thought of diverse means for checking his progress. At last, regarding Drona incapable of being resisted by any one else, Yudhishthira placed that heavy and unbearable burden on the son of Subhadra.
Commentary; this might be Drona's best feat but i think the chakravyooh increased his power and combat effectiveness. Regardless this is very inconsistent as he goes on to lose to abhimanyu 4 times after he just defeated abhimanyu and more than 20 other elites (at least 5 were champions - "satyaki" "bheem" "ghatotkatch" "yudhisthir" "dhrishtadyumn").
How Yudhisthir describes what happened;
"O mighty-armed one, after thou hadst gone towards the army of the Samsaptakas, the preceptor Drona made fierce endeavours for seizing me. We succeeded, however, in resisting Drona at the head of the array at all points, having in that battle, disposed our vigorously contending car-divisions in counter-array. Held in check by a large number of warriors, and myself also having been well protected, Drona began to smite us with great activity, afflicting us with his whetted shafts. Thus afflicted by him, we could not then even gaze at his army, far less face it in battle."
Commentary: as per him their was no abhimanyu among the warriors that were beaten by Drona in the morning.
It all goes downhill from their.

1 - Drona was ineffective and incompetent when Abhimanyu was doing this:
"Those coursers, urged by Sumitra towards Drona's army, rushed towards Drona himself, O king, with great speed and prowess. Beholding him coming (towards them) in that way, al! the Kauravas, headed by Drona, advanced against him, as, indeed, the Pandavas followed him behind. Then Arjuna's son, superior to Arjuna's self eased in golden mail and owning an excellent standard that bore the device of a Karnikara tree, fearlessly encountered, from desire of battle, warriors headed by Drona, like a lion-cub assailing a herd of elephants. Those warriors then, filled with joy began to strike Abhimanyu while he endeavoured to pierce their array. The battle, O king, that commenced there, between those struggling heroes striking one another, became fierce and terrible. And during the progress of that awful battle, Arjuna's son, in the very sight of Drona, breaking that array, penetrated into it. Then large bodies of elephants and steeds and cars and infantry, filled with joy, encompassed that mighty warrior after he had thus penetrated into the midst of the foe, and commenced to smite him."
2 - Drona orders other people to save Duryodhan's honor:
Seeing the king turn back towards Subhadra's son in battle, Drona, addressing all the (Kaurava) warriors, said, "Rescue the king. Before us, in our very sight, the valiant Abhimanyu is slaying all he aims at. Rush ye, therefore, speedily against him, without fear and protect the Kuru king." Then many grateful and mighty warriors, having Duryodhana's good at heart, and always graced with victory, inspired with fear, surrounded thy son." [end quote]
Commentary; to his credit Drona was loyal to Duryodhan unlike most other people (karna etc), because he told people to save Duryodhan from a humiliating loss.
3 - Drona's 1st loss:
"Drona, Ashwathama and Kripa and Karna and Kritavarman and Sakuni, Vrihadvala, Shalya, Bhuri and Bhurisravas, Sala, Paurava, Vrishasena, shooting sharp shafts, checked Subhadra's son by means of those arrowy showers. Confounding him with those showers of shafts, they rescued Duryodhana. The son of Arjuna, however, brooked not that act of snatching a morsel from his mouth. Covering those mighty car-warriors, their charioteers, and steeds with thick showers of arrows and causing them to turn back, the son of Subhadra uttered a leonine roar."
Commentary; being made to "turn back" is another word for being forced to leave/retreat, Drona had help of 12 warriors and failed (it was 13 vs 1), just like karna he lost this was a shameful loss.
4 - Dron attempts a comeback:
Encompassing him on all sides, O sire, with a large body of cars they shot at him showers of diverse kinds of arrows. The grandson, however, cut them off in the welkin (before any of them could reach him) by means of sharp shafts, and then pierced all of them with his shafts. That feat of his seemed exceedingly wonderful. Provoked by him thus by means of those shafts of his that resembled snakes of virulent poison, they surrounded that unretreating son of Subhadra, desirous of slaying him. That sea of (Kaurava) troops, however, O bull of Bharata's race, the son of Arjuna singly held in check by means of his shafts, like the continent resisting the surging ocean. And among those heroes thus fighting with and striking one another Abhimanyu and his man on one side and all those warriors together on the other, none turned back from the field.
Commentary; though its true he checked abhimanyu its also true this battle was inconclusive & that drona was being assisted by many people, its not a fair fight and it does not show any prowess of drona, these achievements can not be credited to him because drona had a entire team's help.
5 - The battle continues;
"Drona pierced him with seventeen shafts, each resembling a snake of virulent poison. And Vivinsati, pierced him with seventy shafts, and Kritavarman with seven. And Vrihadvala pierced him with eight, and Aswatthaman with seven shafts. And Bhurisrava pierced him with three shafts and the ruler of the Madras with six. And Sakuni pierced him with two, and king Duryodhana with three shafts. The valiant Abhimanyu, however, O king, seemingly dancing on his car, pierced each of those warriors in return with three shafts."
Commentary; after this the asmaka king was killed by abhimanyu, so even though drona could save the sons of dhritarashtra for 3 days (day 11-13 none of them fell/died) he failed to protect the warriors under his banner, the kings of other lands that died. As for his battle with abhimanyu it is clearly one sided and the only thing to Drona's credit is that he shot the most arrows after "Vivinsati" but this is only because abhimanyu was distracted he shot 3 at each of the nine that makes it 27 so even in swiftness Drona got surpassed here.
6 - Drona leading another ambush:
Then Karna and Kripa, and Drona and Drona's son, and the ruler of the Gandharas, and Sala and Salya, and Bhurisravas and Kratha, and Somadatta, and Vivinsati, and Vrishasena, and Sushena, and Kundavedhin, and Pratardana, and Vrindaraka and Lalithya, and Pravahu, and Drighalochana, and angry Duryodhana, showered their arrows upon him.
Commentary; after this it is mentioned that abhimanyu defeated karna in front of drona but nowhere did abhimanyu shoot a weapon at drona for the rest of this chapter. So it seemed that the enemy refused to target Drona at times or they (abhimanyu) could not locate Drona.
7 - Drona choosing inaction:
"Beholding Salya thus pierced by the celebrated son of Subhadra, all the troops fled away in the very sight of Bharadwaja's son. Seeing that mighty-armed warrior, Salya, thus covered with shafts of golden wings, thy army fled away like a head of deer attacked by a lion."
Commentary; he clearly recognized abhimanyu beating on shalya but Drona refused to even react to this. Its like he was daydreaming.
8 - Drona stands back idly:
"Abhimanyu, filled with wrath, shot hundreds and thousands of whetted arrows, furnished with golden wings. In the very sight of Bharadwaja's son, that celebrated warrior covered the car-division of the Kaurava army with diverse kinds of arrows."
Commentary; either the man was getting lazy OR he (drona) just admired Abhimanyu and didnt want to take serious action against his students son.
9 - Drona's 2nd loss:
"Careering with great speed like a circle of fire, he pierced Drona and Karna, and Kripa, and Salya and Drona's son, and Kritavarman of the Bhoja race, and Vrihadvala, and Duryodhana, and Somadatta, and mighty Sakuni, and diverse kings and diverse princes and diverse bodies of troops. While engaged in slaying his foes by means of superior weapons, the valiant son of Subhadra, endued with mighty energy, seemed, O Bharata, to be present everywhere."
Commentary; like the previous one the fact that it was a group attack makes it worse for Drona to lose. Not only did he have at least 10 warriors aiding him but after this incident Drona retreated and talked to Kripacharya he praised Abhimanyu's skill & ignored his duty as a general.
10 - Drona being idle;
The high-souled Abhimanyu, however, O king, desirous of proceeding against Drona, quickly pierced Radha's son with three and seventy shafts. No car-warrior of thy army succeeded at that time in obstructing the progress towards Drona, of Abhimanyu, who was the son of Indra's son and who was afflicting all the foremost car-warriors of the Kaurava host.
Commentary: it is true that right after the end of this above quote karna was mentioned as fighting but its also true that karna lost that fight fair and square so their is no point in mentioning it what is important is that karna's previous loss (the above quote) happened in front of Drona's eyes, in his sight Abhimanyu tossed karna aside like a piece of garbage while no warrior was able to stop Abhimanyu from moving towards Drona (indicating that previously Drona left his earlier position to create a distance between abhimanyu and himself.)
11 - Drona's 3rd loss;
"Beholding them broken and routed, Drona and Drona's son, and Vrihadvala, and Kripa, and Duryodhana, and Karna, and Kritavarman, and Suvala's son (Sakuni), rushed in great wrath against the unvanquished son of Subhadra. Almost all these, O king, were beaten back by thy grandson."
Commentary: He was leading the 8 warriors (including himself) and still they all including Drona himself had to turn their backs.
12 - Drona's 4th loss:
"Then Drona, and Kripa, and Karna, and Drona's son and Vrihadvala, and Kritavarman, the son of Hridika these six car-warriors encompassed Abhimanyu. Piercing them with sharp arrows and beating them off from him."
Commentary; Abhimanyu did not follow a "hit-run" style what happened is that he made the warriors under drona and karna run away after being injured by him. Then the coast was clear so abhimanyu could attack Jaydrath.
13 - Drona's inconclusive fight with Abhimanyu:
"he pierced Drona with fifty arrows and Vrihadvala with twenty. And piercing Kritavarman with eighty shafts, he pierced Kripa with sixty. And the son of Arjuna pierced Aswatthaman with ten arrows equipped with golden wings, endued with great speed and shot from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch."
Commentary; this was just the first part of their latest duel, i am quoting the smaller walls of text that are relevant while in my commentary lines i am explaining what happened in the quote to make it easier to understand because after this abhimanyu killed other warriors and fought ashwathama which led to drona being more motivated to face his enemy
[battle continues]"Drona then, desirous of rescuing his son, pierced Abhimanyu with a hundred arrows."[end quote]
Double commentary; after this its mentioned that other warriors also attacked abhimanyu with normal arrows though abhimanyu choose to only target the last person to strike him which was a king of kosala that abhimanyu kills, since he did not attack drona i can not label this a defeat of Drona
14 - Drona advises Karna:
The Karna, the son of Vikartana, said unto Drona "Abhimanyu grindeth us all. Tell us the means by which we may slay him." Thus addressed, the mighty bowman, Drona, addressing them all, said, "Observing him with vigilance, have any of you been able to detect any defeat in this youth? He is careening in all directions. Yet have any of you been able to detect today the least hole in him? Behold the lightness of hand and quickness of motion of this lion among men, this son of Arjuna. In the track of his car, only his bow drawn to a circle can be seen, so quickly is he aiming his shafts and so quickly is he letting them off. Indeed, this slayer of hostile heroes, viz., the son of Subhadra, gratifieth me although he afflicteth my vital breath and stupefieth me with shafts. Even the mightiest car-warriors, filled with wrath, are unable to detect any flaw in him. The son of Subhadra, therefore, careering on the field of battle, gratifieth me greatly. I do not see that in battle there is any difference between the wielder of Gandiva himself and this one of great lightness of hand, filling all the points of the horizon with his mighty shafts.'"Hearing these words, Karna, afflicted with the shafts of Arjuna's son, once more said unto Drona "Exceedingly afflicted with the shafts of Abhimanyu, I am staying in battle, only because (as a warrior) I should stay here. Indeed, the arrows of this youth of great energy are exceedingly fierce. Terrible as they are and possessed of the energy of fire, these arrows are weakening my heart."
The preceptor then, slowly and with a smile, said unto Karna "Abhimanyu is young, his prowess is great. His coat of mail is impenetrable. This one's father had been taught by me the method of wearing defensive armour. This subjugator of hostile towns assuredly knoweth the entire science (of wearing armour). With shafts well shot, you can, however, cut off his bow, bow-string, the reins of his steeds, the steeds themselves, and two Parshni charioteers. O mighty bowman, O son of Radha, if competent, do this. Making him turn back from the fight (by this means), strike him then. With his bow in hand he is incapable of being vanquished by the very gods and the Asuras together. If you wish, deprive him of his car, and divest him of his bow." [quotes are over]
Commentary;
he wouldnt have given his subordinate any help if karna himself didnt come as a beggar to him, otherwise Drona would have continued to allow Abhimanyu to rule the battlefield, the man knows how desperate the kauravas are, how their resources have been depleted, how their men repeatedy get killed yet he still let abhimanyu cause this much damage and destruction even though drona knows that after bhagadatta's death their is only one warrior that can defeat abhimanyu and that is him (drona himself). So this is a bad day based on Drona's actions, decisions and lack of activity. It's shameful behavior for a warlord.
15 - Dron vs Abhimanyu:
"Then Drona of mighty energy, that conqueror of foes with a sharp arrow quickly cut off the hilt, decked with gems, of Abhimanyu's sword. Then came that wonderful hour intervening between day and night. Inauspicious howls of jackals were heard."
Commentary;
this was achieved when abhimanyu got distracted by many others, i cannot credit this achievement to drona but i am quoting it to bring highlight to drona's actions that day. Right after this abhimanyu took a wheel and rushed to drona, but what happened to drona isnt mentioned, sanjay talks about other characters fighting abhimanyu instead.
16 - This day was considered a loss for Drona's army:
"Steadfastly gazed at by the enemy, we slowly left, O monarch, the field of battle, having sustained a severe loss and nearly deprived of our senses."
Commentary;
they could still see the enemy and they could have still fought but unfortunately Drona made another bad decision, this mistake cost him dearly, he knows the pandav army is in turmoil, his side has the upperhand here cause their is no more abhimanyu and the fact that arjun is away should give them a win, as even the best pandav fighters (Satyaki, Bheem, Dhrishtadyumn) are being checked by Jaydrath so Drona could have redeemed himself & arrested Yudhisthir here, once the king is made captive then the enemy wins, but no Drona never did it. This is a horrible mistake bigger than any thing he did that day.
He was defeated how many times by Abhimanyu? Like 4 times. And he would have lost more if Abhimanyu was not pre occupied with other fighters.

Reasoning; Despite knowing the weakness of Abhimanyu still this Drona watched by as he killed off 25 percent of his army in a few hours, the only smart things Drona did this day was is advice to karna but over their it is unfortunate but even a karna hater has to accept that karna deserves more credit for this than Drona does because it was Karna who asked Drona for that advice, did drona ever even offer to give this advice to any of his warriors? The other smart move of Drona was placing Jaydrath the most powerful warrior (after Dron & his son on the kuru side) as a protector for his vyooh. This is and was & will always be the worse day for Drona as a warrior, commander, cheif, general and pradhan.

This day was basically a rise and fall for drona the man started out really well, he successfully planned a tactic that lured his biggest obstacle (Arjun) away and his strategy started to work as he defeated every major warrior of the Pandav army, including the rakshasa emperor (Ghatotkatch), Bheem, and Abhimanyu also Satyaki.
His top 2 mistakes are sparing yudhisthir, and taking too long to deal with a threat like abhimanyu.
------------------------------
More active than all the previous battles combined.
14th day.
Quote 1:
"Then blowing his conch and himself urging the horses to great speed, Drona moved about with great celerity, arraying his troops. After all those divisions that delight in battle had taken up their stations, Bharadwaja's son, O king, said these words unto Jayadratha "Thyself, Somadatta's son, the mighty car-warrior Karna, Aswatthaman, Salya, Vrishasena and Kripa, with a hundred thousand horse, sixty thousand cars, four and ten thousand elephants with rent temples, one and twenty thousand foot-soldiers clad in mail take up your station behind me at the distance of twelve miles. There the very gods with Vasava at their head will not be able to attack thee, what need be said, therefore, of the Pandavas? Take comfort, O ruler of the Sindhus."
Commentary;
Drona arranged for 195 thousand warriors and 6 maharathis (Bhurishravas, Karna, Ashwathama, Salya, Kripa, Vrishasen).
Description of his vyuha:
"The array that Bharadwaja's son formed, part Sakata and part a circle, was full forty-eight miles long and the width of its rear measured twenty miles. Drona himself formed that array with countless brave kings, stationed with it, and countless cars and steeds and elephants and foot-soldiers. In the rear of that array was another impenetrable array of the form of lotus. And within that lotus was another dense array called the needle. Having formed his mighty array thus, Drona took up his station. At the mouth of that needle, the great bowman Kritavarman took up his stand. Next to Kritavarman, O sire, stood the ruler of the Kamvojas and Jalasandha. Next to these, stood Duryodhana and Karna. Behind them hundreds and thousands of unreturning heroes were stationed in that Sakata for protecting its head. Behind them all, O monarch, and surrounded by a vast force, was king Jayadratha stationed at one side of that needle-shaped array."
At the entrance of the Sakata, O king, was Bharadwaja's son. Behind Drona was the chief of the Bhojas, who protected him. Clad in white armour, with excellent head-gear, of broad chest and mighty arms, Drona stood, stretching his large bow, like the Destroyer himself in wrath. Beholding Drona's car which was graced with a beautiful standard and had red sacrificial altar and a black deer-skin, the Kauravas were filled with delight. Seeing that array formed by Drona, which resembled the ocean itself in agitation, the Siddhas and the Charanas were filled with wonder.
Commentary:
such a perfect vyuha formation has never been made before even ram, laxman, parshuram, bhisma were unable to do anything even similar to this
His 3rd action - Arjun vs Drona:
"Telling him this much, Drona, with a smile covered him with showers of sharp arrows, as also his car and steeds and standard and charioteer. Then, Arjuna baffling Drona's arrowy showers with his own arrows, rushed against Drona, shooting mightier and More awful shafts. Observant of Kshatriya duties, Arjuna then pierced Drona in that battle with nine arrows. Cutting the shafts of Arjuna by his own shafts, Drona then pierced both Krishna and Arjuna with many shafts that resembled poison or fire, Then, while Arjuna was thinking of cutting of Drona's bow with his arrows, the latter, endued with great valour, fearlessly and quickly cut off, with shafts the bow-string of the illustrious Phalguna."
"And he also pierced Phalguna's steeds and standard and charioteer. And the heroic Drona covered Phalguna himself with many arrows, smiling the while. Meantime, stringing his large bow anew, Partha, that foremost of all persons conversant with arms, getting the better of his preceptor, quickly shot six hundred arrows as if he had taken and shot only one arrow. And once more he shot seven hundred other arrows, and then a thousand arrows incapable of being resisted, and ten thousand other arrows. All these slew many warriors of Drona's array. Deeply pierced with those weapons by the mighty and accomplished Partha, acquainted with all modes of warfare, many men and steeds and elephants fell down deprived of life. And car-warriors, afflicted by those shafts, fell down from their foremost of cars, deprived of horses and standards and destitute of weapons and life."
"And elephants fell down like summits of hills, or masses of clouds, or large houses, loosened, dispersed, or burnt down by the thunder, or by the wind, or fire. Struck with Arjuna's shafts, thousands of steeds fell down like swans on the breast of Himavat, struck down by the force of watery current. Like the Sun, that rises at the end of the Yuga, drying up with his rays, vast quantities of water, the son of Pandu, by his showers of weapons and arrows, slew a vast number of car-warriors and steeds and elephants and foot-soldiers. Then like the clouds covering the sun, the Drona-cloud, with its arrowy showers, covered the Pandava-sun, whose rays in the shape of thick showers of arrows were scorching in the battle the foremost ones among the Kurus. And then the preceptor struck Dhananjaya at the breast with a long shaft shot with great force and capable of drinking the life-blood of every foe."
"Then Arjuna, deprived of strength, shook in all his limbs, like a hill during an earthquake. Soon, however, regaining for fortitude, Vibhatsu pierced Drona with many winged arrows. Then Drona struck Vasudeva with five arrows. And he struck Arjuna with three and seventy arrows, and his standard with three. Then, O king, the valorous Drona getting the better of his disciple, within the twinkling of an eye made Arjuna invisible by means of his arrowy showers. We then beheld the shafts of Bharadwaja's son falling in continuous lines, and his bow also was seen to present the wonderful aspect of being incessantly drawn to a circle. And those shafts, countless in number, and winged with the Kanka feathers, shot by Drona in that battle, incessantly fell, O king, on Dhananjaya and Vasudeva."

Drona was leader of the warriors that rushed to Arjuna:
"The Abhishahas, the Surasenas, the Sivis, the Vasatis, the Mavellakas, the Lilithyas, the Kaikeyas, the Madrakas, the Narayana Gopalas, and the various tribes of the Kamvojas who had before been vanquished by Karna, all of whom were regarded as very brave, placing Bharadwaja's son at their head, and becoming regardless of their lives, rushed towards Arjuna,"

Arjun vs Drona:
"Partha of great might and prowess, was quickly pursued by Drona from behind. The son of Pandu, however, like diseases scorching the body, blasted that army, scattering his sharp shafts and resembling on that account the sun himself scattering his countless rays of light. And steeds were pierced, and cars with riders were broken and mangled, and elephants were overthrown. And umbrellas were cut off and displaced, and vehicles were deprived of their wheels. And the combatants fled on all sides, exceedingly afflicted with arrows. Even thus progressed that fierce battle between those warriors and Arjuna encountering each other. Firmly devoted to truth, Arjuna then, of white steeds desirous of accomplishing his vow rushed against the foremost of car-warriors, Drona of red steeds. Then the preceptor, Drona, struck his disciple,the mighty bowman Arjuna, with five and twenty straight shafts capable of reaching the very vitals."
"Thereupon, Vibhatsu, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, quickly rushed against Drona, shooting arrows capable of baffling the force of counter arrows, shot at him. Invoking into existence then the Brahma weapon, Arjuna, of immeasurable soul, baffled with his straight shafts those shot so speedily at him by Drona. The skill we then beheld of Drona was exceedingly wonderful, since Arjuna, though young, and though struggling vigorously, could not pierce Drona with a single shaft. Like a mass of clouds pouring torrents of rain, the Drona cloud rained shower on the Partha-mountain."
"Possessed of great energy, Arjuna received that arrowy downpour, O king, by invoking the Brahma weapon, and cut off all those arrows by arrows of his own. Drona then afflicted Partha of white steeds with five and twenty arrows. And he struck Vasudeva with seventy arrows on the chest and arms. Partha then, of great intelligence, smiling the while resisted the preceptor in that battle who was incessantly shooting sharp arrows. Then those two foremost of car-warriors, while thus struck by Drona, avoided that invincible warrior, who resembled the raging Yuga fire. Avoiding those sharp shafts shot from Drona's bow, the diadem-decked son of Kunti, adorned with garlands of flowers, began to slaughter the host of the Bhojas. Indeed, avoiding the invincible Drona who stood immovable like the Mainaka mountain, Arjuna took up his position between Kritavarman and Sudakshina the ruler of the Kamvojas."
Commentary; although its true Drona performed better than arjun its also true that it was Drona's job to make sure arjun's speed is checked too and he does not get ahead of him, it also does not make sense how drona failed to perform this well against arjun in previous battles (day 11, day 3, day 2 etc, virat yudh), i do not accept the fact that Drona had a night of rest, because he was injured alot by abhimanyu too and arjun also had a night of rest. Drona's achievement was remarkable and he deserves praise because even bhishma, susharma, karna combined failed to do this. This is one of his greatest combat feats. Though arjun had the ability to defeat drona he seemed to allow drona to win as he wanted to save his power to use it on his future opponents. This claim is based on the quotes of other characters that Arjun was being mild out of respect for his mentor.

Drona's weapons caused immense blood loss to Krishna and Arjun:
"The two Krishnas, pierced with sharp shafts of Bharadwaja's son, and with bodies dripping with bloods, looked resplendent like two mountains decked with flowering Karnikaras."
Commentary; despite not being at full power this arjun defeated karna fairly many times yet he had problems fighting drona, it shows drona is better than karna.

Suyodhan's complaint:
"thy son, beholding his army broken, repaired to Drona. Quickly coming on his car to Drona, Duryodhana said: 'That tiger among men (Arjuna), having crushed this vast host hath already passed through it. Aided by thy judgment, think now what should be done next for the slaughter of Arjuna in view of awful carnage. Blessed be thou, adopt such measures that that tiger among men may not succeed in slaying Jayadratha. Thou art our sole refuge. Like a raging conflagration consuming heaps of dry grass and straw, Dhananjaya-fire, urged by the wind of his wrath, is consuming the grass and straw constituted by my troops. O scorcher of foes, seeing the son of Kunti pass, having pierced through this host, those warriors that are protecting Jayadratha have become doubtful (of their ability to resist Partha). O foremost of those acquainted with Brahma, it was the settled conviction of the kings that Dhananjaya would never, with life, succeed in transgressing Drona."
"O thou that art highly blessed, I know thou art devoted to the welfare of the Pandavas. I lose my reason, o regenerate one, in thinking what should be done. To the best of my power, I also seek to gratify thee. Thou, however, dost not bear all this in mind. O thou of immeasurable prowess, although we are devoted to thee, still thou never seekest our welfare. Thou art always well-pleased with the Pandavas and always engaged in doing us evil. Though deriving thy livelihood from us, still thou art engaged in doing evil to us. I was not aware that thou art but a razor steeped in honey. If thou hadst not granted me the boon about humiliating and checking the Pandavas, I would never have prevented the ruler of the Sindhus from returning to his own country. Fool that I am, expecting protection from thee, I assured the ruler of the Sindhus, and through my folly offered him as a victim to death."
Drona's reply:
Drona said, "I do not find fault with thy words. Thou art as dear to me as Aswatthaman himself. I tell thee truly. Act, however, now according to my words, O king! Of all drivers of cars, Krishna is the foremost. His steeds are also the foremost of their species. Obtaining only a very small space, Dhananjaya can pass very quickly through it. Seest thou not that the shafts of the diadem-decked (Arjuna), countless in number, shot from his bow, are falling full two miles behind his car as he is proceeding? Burdened with the weight of years, I am now incapable of going so fast. The whole army of the Parthas, again, is now close upon our van. Yudhishthira also should be seized by me. Even so, O thou of mighty arms, hath been the vow made by me in the Presence of all bowmen and in the midst of all the Kshatriyas. O king! he is now staying at the head of his troops, abandoned by Dhananjaya. I shall not, therefore, abandoning the gate of our array, fight with Phalguna. It is meet that thyself, properly supported, shouldst fight With that foe of thine, who is alone and who is thy equal in lineage and feats. Do not fear. Go and fight with him. Thou art the ruler of the world. Thou art a king. Thou art a hero. Possessed of fame, thou art accomplished in vanquishing (thy foes). O brave subjugator of hostile towns, go thyself to that spot where Dhananjaya the son of Pritha is."
Drona gives Duryodhan an armor:
"Let all the bowmen in the world behold today the wonderful feat of the son of Kunti being held in check by thee in the very sight of Vasudeva. This thy armour of gold, O king, I will tie on thy body in such a way that no weapon used by man will be able to strike thee in battle. If even the three worlds with the Asuras and the celestials, the Yakshas, the Uragas, and the Rakshasas, together with all human beings, fight with thee today, thou needst still entertain no fear. Neither Krishna, nor the son of Kunti, nor any other wielder of weapons in battle, will be able to pierce this armour of thine with arrows. Cased in that coat of mail, quickly go thou today against angry Arjuna in battle. He will not be able to bear thee."
"O king, I put this armour on thy body, joining its pieces with the aid of Brahma strings. In days of yore, Brahma himself had thus put it on Vishnu in battle. Even as Brahma himself had put this celestial armour on Sakra in the battle caused by the abduction of Taraka, I put it on thee.' Having thus, with mantras, donned that armour duly on Duryodhana, the regenerate Drona sent the king to battle."
Commentary; this proves drona was more of a daanveer than karna and king vali as he gave duryodhan an armor while karna couldnt give duryodhan anything.
Dron vs other warriors:
"Pandavas accompanied by the Somakas, quickly rushed against Drona with loud shouts. And then commenced the battle (between them and Drona's troops). And the battle that took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas at the gate of the array, was fierce and awful, making the hair stand on end. The Parthas headed by Dhrishtadyumna, all accomplished in smiting and arrayed properly covered the troops of Drona with showers of arrows. Ourselves also, placing Drona, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, at our head, covered the Parthas, gathered by Prishata's son, with our shafts."
"Drona, agitating the Pandava host. Exerting themselves with great vigour, the Pandavas rushed towards Drona alone for piercing his host, like a mighty torrent of water towards a strong embankment, for sweeping it away. Like an immovable hill resisting the fiercest current of water, Drona, however, resisted in that battle the enraged Pandavas and Panchalas and Kekayas. Many other kings also, endued with great strength and courage, attacking them from all sides, began to resist the Pandavas. Then that tiger among men, the son of Prishata, uniting with the Pandayas, began repeatedly to strike Drona, for piercing the hostile host. Indeed, as Drona showered his arrows on Prishata's son, even so did the latter shower his on Drona."

Drona is drubbed by Dhrishtadyumn:
"Dhrishtadyumna-cloud poured on all sides torrents of weapons, as its showers of stones. Slaying the foremost of car-warriors and a large number of steeds, the son of Prishata seemed to deluge the hostile divisions (with his arrowy downpours). And the son of Prishata, by his arrows, turned Drona away from all those tracks amid the car-divisions of the Pandavas, through which that hero attempted to pass, striking the warriors there with his shafts. And although Drona struggled vigorously in that battle, yet his host, encountering Dhrishtadyumna, became divided into three columns. One of these retreated towards Kritavarman, the chief of the Bhojas; another towards Jalasandha; and fiercely slaughtered the while by the Pandavas, proceeded towards Drona himself. Drona, that foremost of car-warriors, repeatedly united his troops. The mighty warrior Dhrishtadyumna as often smote and separated them."
Drona redeems himself:
"Drona, filled with wrath, began to consume the Panchalas with his shafts. And while engaged in crushing those divisions and exterminating them with his shafts, the form of Drona became like that of the blazing Yuga-fire. That mighty car-warrior pierced cars, elephants, and steeds, and foot-soldiers, in that battle, each with only a single arrow, (and never employing more than one in any case). There then was no warrior in the Pandava army who was capable of bearing, O lord, the arrows shot from the bow of Drona. Scorched by the rays of the sun and blasted by the shafts of Drona, the Pandava divisions there began to reel about on the field. And thy host also, similarly slaughtered by Prishata's son, seemed to blaze up at every point like a dry forest on fire. And while both Drona and Dhrishtadyumna were slaughtering the two hosts, the warriors of both armies, in utter disregard of their lives, fought everywhere to the utmost extent of their prowess."
Drona's enemy later on:
"The chief of Avanti, with the Sauviras and the cruel Prabhadrakas, resisted wrathful Dhrishtadyumna, the prince of the Panchalas."
Commentary; this makes no sense and is a inconsistency as "prabhadraka" was a pro pandav team in this war so how can they aid the kauravas against dhrishtadyumn? but the point is that dhrishtadyumns opponent ended up not being drona.
Nakul, Sahadev, Bheem vs Dron:
"Approaching Bharadwaja's son who was staying at the gate of his array, the Parthas battled vigorously for piercing through Drona's division. And Drona also, accompanied by his forces, desirous of protecting his own array, battled with the Parthas, seeking glory."
Commentary; their was not a direct result to this small battle, but it shows drona swapped his opponents by fighting other people while his former enemy (dhrishtadyumn) fought a different group.
Sakuni and dron:
"Sakuni unable to put forth his valour, knew not what to do. Beholding him turn back, those mighty car-warriors, viz., the two sons of Pandu, once more showered their arrows on him like two masses of clouds pouring torrents of rain on a mighty hill. Struck with countless straight shafts, the son of Suvala fled towards the division of Drona, borne by his swift steeds."
Commentary; tv serials pro tray karna saving shakuni but it is completely false as only drona had the power required for such a feat

Drona's 1st win over Dhrishtadyumn (on this day solely):
"Dhrishtadyumna, O king, scattering the shafts, like the sun shooting his rays, rushed against Drona. Then commenced that battle between all the bowmen, eager for the encounter, of the Kurus and the Pandavas, excited with wrath. And during the progress of that terrible carnage, when all the warriors were battling with one another fearlessly the mighty Drona fought with the mighty prince of the Panchalas. And the clouds of arrows he shot in that encounter filled all spectators with wonder. And Drona and the prince of the Panchalas, cutting off the heads of men by thousands, scattered them on the field of battle, making the latter resemble a forest of lotuses."
"Dhrishtadyumna caused his own steeds to be mixed up with those of Drona. Those steeds endued with the speed of the wind, that were white as pigeons and red as blood, thus mixed with one another in battle, looked exceedingly beautiful. Indeed, they looked resplendent like clouds charged with lightning. Then that slayer of hostile heroes, viz., heroic Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata, beholding Drona, O Bharata, arrived so near, cast off his bow and took up his sword and shield, for achieving a difficult feat. Seizing the shaft of Drona's car, he entered into it. And he stayed sometimes on the middle of the yoke, and sometimes on its joints and sometimes behind the steeds."
"And while he was moving, armed with swords, quickly upon the backs of those red steeds of Drona, the latter could not detect an opportunity for striking him. 1 All this seemed wonderful to us. Indeed, like the sweep of a hawk in the woods from desire of food, seemed that sally of Dhrishtadyumna from his own car for the destruction of Drona. Then Drona cut off, with a hundred arrows, the shield, decked with a hundred moons, of Drupada's son, and then his sword, with ten others. And mighty Drona then, with four and sixty arrows, slew the steeds of his antagonist. And with a couple of broad-headed shafts he cut off the latter's standard and umbrella also, and then slew both his Parshni charioteers. And then with great speed drawing his bow-string to his ear, he shot at him a fatal shaft, like the wielder of the thunder hurling the thunder (at a foe)."
"But soon Satyaki, with four and ten sharp shafts, cut off that fatal arrow of Drona. And thus the Vrishni hero, O sire, rescued Dhrishtadyumna, who had been seized by that lion among men, the foremost of preceptors, like a deer seized by the king of the forests. Even thus did that bull amongst the Sinis, the prince of the Panchalas. Beholding Satyaki to rescue the prince of the Panchalas in the dreadful battle, Drona quickly shot at him six and twenty arrows. The grandson of Sini then, in return, pierced Drona in the centre of the chest with six and twenty arrows, while the latter was engaged in devouring the Srinjayas. Then all the Panchala car-warriors, desirous of victory upon the Satwata hero, proceeding against Drona, quickly withdrew Dhrishtadyumna from the battle."

Satyaki vs Drona (part 1):
"Drona and Sini's grandson, fought with each other, each striking the other with thousands of shafts. Those two bulls among men filled the welkin with their arrowy showers. Indeed, the two heroes covered the ten points of the compass with their shafts. And they poured on each other their shafts like two clouds pouring their contents (on the earth) on the expiration of summer. The sun became invisible. The very wind ceased to blow. And in consequence of those showers of shafts filling the welkin, a continuous and thick gloom was caused there that became unbearable to the other heroes. And when the shafts of Drona and Sini's grandson had caused that gloom there, none beheld any cessation in shooting in either of them. They were both quick in the use of weapons, and they were both looked upon as lions among men. The sound produced by those torrents of arrows, shot by both striking against each other was heard to resemble the sound of the thunder hurled by Sakra. The forms of heroic warriors pierced with long shafts looked like those of snakes, O Bharata, hit by snakes of virulent poison. Brave warriors incessantly heard the twangs of their bows and the sounds of their palms to resemble the sound of thunder falling upon summits of mountains. The cars of both of those warriors, O king, their steeds, and their charioteers pierced with shafts of golden wings, became beautiful to behold."
Commentary; technically the fight between these 2 characters began in the previous chapter but their satyakis focus was to save his general while dronas was to slay dhrishtadyumn. here goth have the goal of ending eachothers life.

Satyaki vs Drona (part 2):
"The umbrellas of both were cut off, as also the standards of both. And both of them were covered with blood, and both were inspired with the hope of victory. With blood trickling down every limb of theirs, they resembled a couple of elephants with secretions trickling down their bodies. And they continued to strike each other with fatal shafts. The roars and shouts and other cries of the soldiers, the blare of conchs and the beat of drums ceased, O king, for none uttered any sound. Indeed, all the divisions became silent, and all the warriors stopped fighting. People, filled with curiosity became spectators of that single combat. Car-warriors and elephant riders and horsemen and foot-soldiers, surrounding those two bulls among men, witnessed their encounter with steadfast eyes."
Satyaki vs Drona (part 3):
And both endued with great strength, Drona and Satyaki, displaying their lightness of hand in the use of weapons, began to pierce each other with shafts. Then he of Dasarha's race, with his mighty shafts, cut off those of the illustrious Drona in that battle, and then, within a moment, the latter's bow also. Within, however, the twinkling of an eye, the son of Bharadwaja took up another bow and strung it. Even that bow of his was cut off by Satyaki. Drona then, with utmost quickness waited with another bow in hand. As often, however, as Drona strung his bow, Satyaki cut it off. And this he did full nine and seven times. Beholding then that superhuman feat of Yuyudhana in battle, Drona, O monarch, thought in his mind, "This force of weapons that I see in this foremost one among the Satwatas exists in Rama and Dhananjaya and was seen also in Kartavirya and that tiger among men, Bhishma."
Satyaki vs Drona (part 4):
"Beholding that lightness of hand equal unto that of Vasava himself, that foremost of regenerate ones, that first of all persons conversant with weapons, was highly gratified with Madhava. And the gods also, with Vasava at their head, were gratified with it. The gods and the Gandharvas, O monarch, had never before witnessed that lightness of hand of the quickly moving Yuyudhana, although they and the Siddhas and the Charanas had been acquainted with the feats of which Drona was capable. Then Drona, that foremost of persons acquainted with weapons, that grinder of Kshatriyas, taking up another bow, aimed some weapons. Satyaki, however, baffling those weapons with the illusion of his own weapon struck him with some sharp shafts. All this seemed highly wonderful. Beholding that superhuman feat of his in battle, that feat of which nobody else was capable, and which displayed very great skill, those amongst thy warriors that were judges of skill, applauded it. Satyaki shot the same weapons that Drona shot. Beholding this, that scorcher of foes, the preceptor, fought with a little less boldness, than usual. Then that master of military science, O king, filled with wrath, invoked celestial weapons for the destruction of Yuyudhana."
Satyaki vs Drona (part 5):
"Beholding that terrible foe-slaughtering Agneya weapon, Satyaki, that mighty bowman, invoked another celestial weapon, viz., the Varuna. Seeing them both take up celestial weapons, loud cries of Oh and Alas arose there. The very creatures having the sky for their element ceased to range through it. Then the Varuna and the Agneya weapons which had thus been grafted on their shafts coming against each other became fruitless. 1 Just at that time, the sun passed down in his course. Then king Yudhishthira and Bhimasena, the son of Pandu, and Nakula, and Sahadeva, desirous of protecting Satyaki, and the Matsyas, and the Salweya troops, speedily proceeded towards Drona. Then thousands of princes placing Duhsasana at their head, hastily proceeded towards Drona (for protecting him) who was surrounded by foes."
Commentary; both warriors are being protected at the end so is it fair to call this end a stalemate? even though the previous parts of this battle were in Satyaki's favor? Dron was injured more than Satyaki. Still neither warrior gave up they kept striking eachother it is a draw.

Drona almost gets his goal:
"Yudhishthira, that chief of the Bharatas, struck Drona with ninety straight shafts in all his vital parts. Enraged by the famous son of Kunti, Drona struck him in return, O chief of the Bharatas, in the centre of the chest with five and twenty shafts. And once more, in the very sight of all the bowmen, Drona struck him, with his steeds, charioteer, and standard, with twenty shafts. Pandu's son, of virtuous soul, displaying great lightness of hand, baffled with his own arrowy showers those arrows shot by Drona, Then that great bowman Drona, filled with rage, cut off the bow of the high souled king Yudhishthira the just. Then that great car-warrior (the son of Bharadwaja) speedily covered the bowless Yudhishthira with many thousands of shafts. Beholding the king made invisible by the shafts of Bharadwaja's son, all thought that Yudhishthira was dead, and some thought that the king had fled before Drona. And many cried out, O king, saying, 'Alas the king hath been slain by the high-souled Brahmana.' Then, king Yudhishthira the just, fallen into great distress, having laid aside that bow cut off by Bharadwaja's son in battle took up another excellent, bright and tougher bow."

"And that hero then cut off in that encounter all those shafts shot in thousands by Drona. All this seemed exceedingly wonderful. Having cut off those shafts, O king, Yudhishthira, with eyes red in wrath, took up in that battle a dart, capable of riving even a mountain. Equipped with a golden staff, of awful mien, having eight bells attached to it, and exceedingly terrible, the mighty Yudhishthira, taking it up, uttered a loud roar. And with that roar, O Bharata, the son of Pandu inspired all creatures with fear. Beholding that dart upraised by king Yudhishthira the just, all creatures, as if with one accord, said, 'Good be to Drona!' Hurled from the king's arms, that dart resembling a snake just freed from its slough, coursed towards Drona, illumining the welkin and all the directions cardinal and subsidiary, like a she-snake with fiery mouth."

"Beholding it coursing towards him impetuously, O king, Drona, that foremost of all persons acquainted with weapons invoked into existence the weapon called Brahma. That weapon, reducing that dart of terrible mien into dust, coursed towards the car of the illustrious son of Pandu. Then, O sire, king Yudhishthira of' great wisdom baffled that weapon of Drona, thus coursing towards him by himself invoking the Brahma weapon. And then piercing Drona himself in that battle with five straight shafts, he cut off, with a sharp razor-faced shaft, the large bow of Drona. Then Drona, that grinder of Kshatriyas, throwing aside that broken bow, hurled with great force, O sire, a mace at the son of Dharma. Beholding that mace impetuously coursing towards him, Yudhishthira, O chastiser of foes, filled with rage, took up a mace. Then those two maces, both hurled with great force, encountering each other in mid-air, produced by their collision sparks of fire and then fell down on the earth. Then Drona, filled with fury, slew, O sire, the steeds of Yudhishthira, with four excellent shafts of keen points. And with another broad-headed shaft he cut off he king's bow resembling a pole erected to the honour of Indra."

"And with another shaft he cut off the standard of Yudhishthira, and with three he afflicted the Pandava himself. Then king Yudhishthira, speedily jumping down from that steedless car, stood weaponless and with arms upraised, O bull of Bharata's race! Beholding him carless, and especially weaponless, Drona, O lord, stupefied his foes, rather the whole army. Firmly adhering to his vow, and endued with great lightness of hands, Drona shot showers of sharp shafts and rushed towards the king, like a furious lion towards a deer. Beholding Drona, that slayer of foes, rush towards him, cries of Oh and Alas suddenly rose from the Pandava army.' And many cried out, saying, 'The king is slain by Bharadwaja's son.' Loud wails of this kind were heard, O Bharata, among the Pandava troops. Meanwhile, king Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, getting up on the car of Sahadeva, retreated from the field."

Commentary; although he defeated yudhisthir the goal was to capture him, so drona won but he didnt get what he wanted the most

Drona's mistake:
"The Magadhas were nearly exterminated. A small remnant flew from the field. Beholding this, thy army, already afflicted with the arrows of Yuyudhana, broke, O lord! Then that foremost one of Madhu's race, having slaughtered ill battle thy troops, that illustrious hero, looked resplendent as he shook his bow. The army, O king, was thus routed by that high-souled one of the Satwata race. Indeed, frightened by that hero of long arms, none approached him for fight. Then Drona filled with rage and rolling his eyes, himself rushed impetuously towards Satyaki."
Commentary;
when he should have been chasing yudhishthir (who at that moment was in a critical state) drona made a error and targetted Satyaki instead
Satyaki vs Drona (part 6):
Drona himself rushed towards that warrior of unbaffled prowess, called also by the name of Satyaki. Satyaki pierced that mighty car-warrior, the son of Bharadwaja, thus advancing against him, with five and twenty small arrows. Drona also, possessed of great prowess in battle, with deliberate aim, quickly pierced Yuyudhana, with five whetted arrows, equipped with wings of gold. Those arrows, piercing the hard mount of the foe and drinking his life-blood, entered the earth, O king, like hissing snakes. The long-armed Satyaki then, inflamed with rage like an elephant struck with the hook, pierced Drona with fifty long arrows that resembled flames of fire. Then Bharadwaja's son, thus quickly pierced in battle by Yuyudhana, pierced carefully exerting Satyaki in return with many arrows. Then that great bowman, endued with great might, and filled with rage, once more afflicted that hero of the Satwata race with many straight shafts. Thus struck in that battle by the son of Bharadwaja, Satyaki, O monarch, knew not what to do. Then, O king, Yuyudhana's face became cheerless, seeing the son of Bharadwaja shoot countless keen arrows. Beholding Satyaki thus situated, thy sons and troops, O king, becoming exceedingly cheerful, repeatedly uttered leonine roars. Hearing that terrible uproar and beholding that hero of Madhu's race thus afflicted, king Yudhishthira, O monarch, addressing all his soldiers, said, "That foremost one among the Vrishnis, the brave Satyaki, of prowess incapable of being baffled, is about to be devoured by the heroic Drona, like the sun by Rahu."

Drona vs Kekaya, Srinjaya, Panchal and Pandava armies:
"Blessed be thou, great was the uproar made there by the Pandavas and the Srinjayas all fighting with Drona only. Together approaching, O tiger among men, that mighty car-warrior, the son of Bharadwaja, they covered with showers of keen arrows equipped with the feathers of Kankas and peacocks. Drona, however, received all those heroes smilingly, like a householder receiving guests arrived of their own will, with seats and water. With the shafts of Bharadwaja's bow-wielding son, those heroes were well-gratified like guest, O king, with the hospitality they receive in the houses (of good hosts). And none of them, O lord, could even gaze at the son of Bharadwaja who then resembled the thousand-rayed sun at midday. Indeed, Drona, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, scorched all those great bowmen with showers of arrows like the sun scorching (everything below) with his burning rays."
"Thus struck, O king, by Drona, the Pandavas and the Srinjayas beheld no protector, like elephants sunk in a morass. The mighty arrows of Drona, as they coursed (through the welkin), looked like the rays of the sun blasting everything around. In that encounter, five and twenty warriors among the Panchalas were slain by Drona, who were all regarded as Maharathas and all approved (as such) by Dhrishtadyumna. And amongst all the troops of the Pandavas and the Panchalas, men quietly beheld brave Drona slaying the foremost of warriors in succession. Having slain a hundred warriors amongst the Kekayas and routing them on all sides, Drona stood, O monarch, like the Destroyer himself with wide-open mouth."
Commentary; 1st he slew 25 maharathis than he slaughtered 100 rathis, drona is a legend and better than bhishma, karna, hanuman as a warrior.

Drona single handedly massacred different tribes:
The mighty-armed Drona vanquished the Panchalas, the Srinjayas, the Matsyas and the Kekayas, O monarch, by hundreds and thousands. Pierced by the arrows of Drona, the clamour made by them resembled that made in the woods by the denizens of the forest when encompassed by a conflagration. The gods, Gandharvas, and the Pitris, said, "Behold, the Panchalas, and the Pandavas, with all their troops, are flying away."
Drona was assaulting yudhisthirs private army:
"In today's battle, I fail to keep my judgment clear. Drona also is, with great might, afflicting my forces! Thou seest, O mighty-armed one, how that regenerate one is careering in battle. When several tasks present themselves together, thou art well-skilled in selecting that which would be first attended to."

Satyaki vs Drona (part 7):
"Satyaki desired to go by that very track by which Dhananjaya had gone before him. Then Drona came and resisted him. Encountering the son of Bharadwaja, Yuyudhana., filled with rage, stopped not like a vast expanse of water upon encountering on embankment. Drona, however, checking in that battle the mighty car-warrior Yuyudhana, pierced him with five keen shafts, capable of penetrating into the very vitals. Satyaki, however, O king, in that battle pierced Drona with seven shafts whetted on stone, equipped with golden wings and the feathers of the Kanka and the peacock. Then Drona, afflicted Satyaki, his steeds and the drivers, with six shafts. The mighty car-warrior Yuyudhana could not brook that feat of Drona. Uttering a leonine shout, he then pierced Drona with ten shafts, and then with six, and then with eight others. And once more Yuyudhana pierced Drona with ten shafts, his charioteer with one and his four steeds with four. And with another shaft, O sire, Satyaki struck Drona's standard. Then, Drona speedily covered Satyaki, his car, steeds, driver, and standard, with swiftly coursing shafts, countless in number like a flight of locusts. Similarly, Yuyudhana fearlessly covered Drona with countless shafts of great speed."
Commentary; though its true that satyaki was the last character to fire a arrow and ultimately got the last laugh while drona is the last guy to get wounded its also true that below their are quotes proving the battle had not ended i cant consider this a defeat of drona.
Relevant quote:
"Having said this much, the grandson of Sini avoided the preceptor and suddenly proceeded onwards, O king!"
2nd quote: "Drona, however, excited with wrath, pursued him from behind, shooting at him countless shafts. Indeed, the preceptor closely followed highly blessed Yuyudhana who advanced without any desire of turning back."
Drona trying to catch Satyaki:
"Meanwhile, Drona, having placed his troops in a proper position and made over the burthen of their protection to the ruler of the Bhojas, firmly resolved, proceeded with great speed towards Yuyudhana from desire of battle. Then the foremost warriors of the Pandava host, beholding Drona thus pursuing Yuyudhana from behind, cheerfully began to resist him."

Satyaki vs Drona (part 8):
"Drona, that foremost of all wielders of bows, approached the mighty car-warrior Yuyudhana, borne by his swift coursers. Many bulls among the Kurus, beholding Sini's grandson swelling (with rage-and pride), rushed at him with fury, accompanied by Drona. Then commenced a battle, O king, between the Kurus and Drona (on one side) and Yuyudhana (on the other)."
Commentary; i accept that Satyaki is a great warrior (hes one of my favorite characters) but drona needing alot of help against one person shows the lack of power that drona had. He is relying on group attacks.

Drona cheats against Satyaki:
"Drona struck him with seven and seventy shafts of great keenness. And Durmarshana struck him with a dozen, Duhsasana, struck him with ten shafts. And Vikarna also pierced him on the left side as also on the centre of the chest with thirty keen shafts equipped with Kanka feathers. And Durmukha struck him with ten shafts, and Duhsasana with eight, Chitrasena, O sire, pierced him with a couple of shafts. And Duryodhana, O king, and many other heroes, afflicted that mighty car-warrior with dense showers of shafts in that battle. Though checked on all sides by those mighty car-warriors, thy sons, Yuyudhana of Vrishni's race pierced each of them separately with his straight shafts."
Commentary; drona had help from 6 main kaurava brothers, duhsasan being mentioned twice means either one is a error or one was mistranslated. It might be 7 brothers instead of 6.
Satyaki fights back:
he pierced the son of Bharadwaja with three shafts, and Duhsasana with nine, and Vikarna with five and twenty, and Chitrasena with seven, and Durmarshana with a dozen, and Vivinsati with eight, and Satyavrata with nine, and Vijaya with ten shafts. And having pierced Rukmangada also that mighty car-warrior, viz., Satyaki, shaking his bow, speedily proceeded against thy son (Duryodhana). And Yuyudhana, in the sight of all men, deeply pierced with his arrows the king, that greatest of car-warriors in the whole world.
Commentary - besides drona 9 warriors were mentioned that Satyaki injured

Drona vs Satyaki (part 9):
"Drona pierced the grandson of Sini on the forehead with three beautiful arrows made entirely of iron and resembling' snakes of virulent poison. Thus pierced on the forehead with those straight shafts, Yuyudhana, O king, looked beautiful like a mountain with three summits. The son of Bharadwaja always on the alert for an opportunity, then sped in that battle many other arrows of Satyaki which resembled the roar of Indra's thunder. Then he of Dasarha's race, acquainted with the highest weapons, cut off all those arrows shot from Drona's bow, with two beautifully winged arrows of his. Beholding that lightness of hand (in Satyaki), Drona, O king, smiling the while, suddenly pierced that bull among the Sinis with thirty arrows. Surpassing by his own lightness the lightness of Yuyudhana, Drona, once more, pierced the latter with fifty arrows and then with a hundred. Indeed, those mangling arrows, O king, issued from Drona's car, like vigorous snakes in wrath issuing through an ant-hill. Similarly, blood-drinking arrows shot by Yuyudhana in hundreds and thousands covered the car of Drona. We did not mark any difference, however, between the lightness of hand displayed by that foremost of regenerate ones and that displayed by him of the Satwata race. Indeed, in this respect, both those bulls among men were equal."
Commentary; not only drona but satyaki is also performing better, when both fighter are at their peaks they appear evenly matched but we can not forget that drona fought more opponents previously this day (arjun, dhrishtadyumn) which rendered drona somewhat exhausted not at his maximum power yet still he was exerting himself against satyaki, even satyaki may not have been at his maximum power either as he fought many warriors too (less in quality, more in quantity).
Drona vs Satyaki (part 10):
"Satyaki, inflamed with wrath, struck Drona with nine straight arrows. And he struck Drona's standard also with many sharp shafts. And in the sight of Bharadwaja's son, he pierced the latter's driver also with a hundred arrows. Beholding the lightness of hand displayed by Yuyudhana, the mighty car-warrior Drona piercing Yuyudhana's driver with seventy shafts, and each of his (four) steeds with three, cut off with a single arrow the standard that stood on Madhava's car. With another broad-headed arrow, equipped with feathers and with wings of gold, he cut off in that battle the bow of that illustrious hero of Madhu's race. Thereupon, the mighty car-warrior Satyaki, excited with wrath, laid aside that, taking up a huge mace, hurled it at the son of Bharadwaja. Drona, however, with many arrows of diverse forms, resisted that mace, made of iron and twined round with strings, as it coursed impetuously towards him. Then Satyaki, of prowess incapable of being baffled, took up another bow and pierced the heroic son of Bharadwaja with many arrows whetted on stone. Piercing Drona thereby in that battle, Yuyudhana uttered a leonine shout."
commentary; here satyaki had the advantage
Satyaki vs Drona (part 11):
"Taking up a dart made of iron and equipped with golden staff Drona sped it quickly at the car of Madhava. That dart, however, fatal as Death, without touching the grandson of Sini, pierced through the latter's car and entered the earth with a fierce noise. The grandson of Sini then, O king, pierced Drona with many winged arrows. Indeed, striking him on the right arm, Satyaki, O bull of Bharata's race, afflicted him greatly. Drona also, in that battle, O king, cut off the huge bow of Madhava with a crescent-shaped arrow and smote the latter's driver with a dart. Struck with that dart, Yuyudhana's driver swooned away and for a while lay motionless on the terrace of the car. Then, O Monarch, Satyaki, acting as his own driver, achieved a superhuman feat, inasmuch as he continued to fight with Drona and hold the reins himself. Then the mighty car-warrior Yuyudhana struck that Brahmana with a hundred arrows in that battle, and rejoiced exceedingly, O monarch, at the feat he had achieved. Then Drona, O Bharata, sped at Satyaki five arrows. Those fierce arrows, piercing Satyaki's armour, drank his blood in that battle. Thus pierced with those frightful arrows, Satyaki became inflamed with wrath. In return, that hero shot many shafts at him of the golden car. Then felling on the earth with a single shaft, the driver of Drona, he caused next, with his arrows, those driverless steeds of his antagonist to fly away. Thereupon that car was dragged to a distance."

Commentary; satyaki once again proved his power he finally broke through the wall that was infront of him in the form of drona, though their is one thing that i have to explain as it might make no sense to readers that is how the 2nd sentence says drona's dart went through the chariot of satyaki and inside the earth while a sentence after that says drona's dart knocked out satyaki's driver now my explanation is that drona fired 2 darts not 1.
Concluding the "drona vs Satyaki" chapter i have to say it started out as a stalemate then the tide shifted and it became well for Drona as he was winning rounds but slowly Satyaki turned out to be a 2nd abhimanyu for him and Drona succumbed at least he didnt exclusively lose like karna unlike karna this drona character was able to defeat satyaki a few times before biting the dust and entering the loss streak.

Drona's wise decision:
"Meanwhile, Drona, once more proceeding to the gate of the array, took up his station there, borne away (from Satyaki's presence) by those steeds, fleet as the wind, that had been, afflicted with the shafts of the Vrishni hero. The valiant son of Bharadwaja, beholding the array broken (in his absence) by the Pandavas and the Panchalas, made no endeavour to follow the grandson of Sini, but employed himself in protecting his (broken) array. Checking the Pandavas and the Panchalas then, the Drona fire, blazing up in wrath stayed there, consuming everything, like the sun that rises at the end of the Yuga."
Commentary;
to drona's credit this was a logical move as he was wasting time with satyaki, now that satyaki is following arjuns pathway it means that the pandav army will offer less resistance to drona (who is on the frontlines trying to capture yudhisthir), though i think its too late for drona to make ammends as his previous decisions cost him his victory (aka capturing yudhishtir) and now yudhishthir is probably buried too deep within the pandav army for drona to get him and he has more obstacles, but i support the fact that drona made a smart move as it would be too risky to follow satyaki, as he would either end up dead or would waste his time by taking too long (ignoring yudhishthir too) and more enemies from the pandav army could enter the kaurav formations so Drona had to stay back at the front of their formation.
Drona's conversation with his new charioteer:
Hearing that great uproar, Drona, addressing his charioteer, said "O Suta, that great car-warrior of the Satwata race, excited with wrath, is tearing our army into diverse fragments, and careering in battle like the Destroyer himself. Take thou the car to that spot whence this furious uproar is coming. Without doubt, Yuyudhana is engaged with the mountaineers who battle with stones, Our car-warriors are seen also to be borne away by their wildly running steeds. Many amongst them, weaponless and armourless and wounded, are falling down. The charioteers are unable to check their steeds as these are rushing wildly."
Hearing these words of Bharadwaja's son, the charioteer said unto Drona, that foremost of wielders of weapons "Thou blest with length of days, the Katirava troops are flying away. Behold, our warriors, routed (by the foe), are flying in all directions. There, again, those heroes the Panchalas, and the Pandavas, united together, are rushing from all sides from desire of slaughtering thee, O chastiser of foes, do thou determine which of these tasks should first demand attention. Should we stay here (to meet the advancing Pandava), or should we proceed (towards Satyaki)? As regards Satyaki, he is now far ahead of us."
Drona kills prince Viraketu (son of Droopad):
"The illustrious Viraketu, the son of the ruler of the Panchalas, rushed against the son of Bharadwaja who thus engaged in vanquishing the Pandava ranks. Piercing Drona with five straight shafts, that prince then pierced Drona's standard with one shaft, and then his charioteer with seven. The sight that I then beheld, O monarch, in that battle, was exceedingly wonderful, inasmuch as Drona, though exerting himself vigorously could not approach the prince of the Panchalas. Then, O sire, the Panchalas, beholding Drona checked in battle, surrounded the latter on all sides, O king, from desire of king Yudhishthira's victory. And those warriors then covered Drona along with showers of fiery shafts and strong lances and various other kinds of weapons"
"Baffling then those dense showers of weapons by means of his own numerous shafts like the wind driving away from the welkin masses of clouds, Drona looked exceedingly resplendent. Then that slayer of hostile heroes (the son of Bharadwaja), aimed a fierce shaft endued with the effulgence of the sun or the fire, at the car of Viraketu. The shaft, O monarch, piercing through the prince of Panchala, quickly entered the earth, bathed in blood and blazing like a flame of fire. Then the prince of the Panchalas quickly fell down from his car, like a Champaka tree uprooted by the wind, falling down from a mountain summit."

Drona vs 4 prince's:
"Then Chitraketu, and Sudhanwan, and Chitravarman, O Bharata, and Chitraratha also, all afflicted with grief on account of their (slain) brother, together rushed against the son of Bharadwaja, desirous of battling with him, and shooting shafts (at him) like the clouds (pouring) at the end of summer. Struck from all sides by those mighty car-warriors of royal lineage, that bull among Brahmanas mustered all his energy and wrath for their destruction. Then Drona, shot showers of shafts at them. Struck with those shafts of Drona shot from his bow to its fullest stretch those princess. O best of monarchs, became confounded and know not what to do. The angry Drona, O Bharata, beholding those princes stupefied, smilingly deprived them of their steeds and charioteers and cars in that battle. Then the illustrious son of Bharadwaja, by means of his sharp arrows and broad-headed shafts, cut off their heads, like a person plucking flowers from a tree."
Drona's confidence gets ahead of himself:
"Then, O king, cries of woe suddenly arose there at the sight of Drona covered with arrows by the prince of Panchala. Completely shrouded by the high-souled son of Prishata, Drona, however, suffered no pain. On the other hand, he continued to fight, smiling the while. The prince of the Panchalas then, furious with rage, struck Drona in the chest with many straight shafts. Deeply pierced by that mighty warrior, the illustrious son Of Bharadwaja sat down on the terrace of his car and fell into a swoon. Beholding him in that condition, Dhrishtadyumna endued with great Prowess and energy, laid aside his bow and quickly took up a sword."
Commentary:
he was too arrogant it cost him another loss where he was in a position where the enemy could have murdered him. Drona did not learn from his prebious mistakes, he should never underestimate an opponent at least not on this day. Or maybe we can not blame drona as dhrishtadyumn was a powerful warrior and deserved this rare victory especially since drona was not at full power (due to previous injuries)
Drona's most difficult moment:
"That mighty car-warrior then, speedily jumping down from his own car, Mounted that of Bharadwaja, O sire, in no time, his eyes red in wrath and impelled by the desire of cutting Drona's head from off his trunk. Meanwhile, the valiant Drona, regaining his senses, took up his bow and seeing Dhrishtadyumna arrived so near him from desire of slaughter, began to pierce that mighty car-warrior with shafts measuring a span only in length and therefore, fit to be used in close fight. Those arrows of the measure of a span and fit to be used in close fight, were known to Drona, O king!"
"And with them he succeeded in weakening Dhrishtadyumna. The mighty Dhrishtadyumna, struck with a large number of those arrows, quickly jumped down from Drona's car. Then, that hero of great prowess, his impetuosity baffled, mounted upon his own car and once more took up his large bow. And the mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna once more began to pierce Drona in that battle. And Drona also, O monarch, began to pierce the son of Prishata with his arrows."
Commentary;
one of the most dangerous moments of drons life.
Drona's redemption:
"Both conversant with the ways of battle, they careered over the field, displaying diverse motions of their cars and mangling each other with their shafts, And Drona and Prishata's son, stupefying the mind of the warriors, shot showers of shafts like two mighty clouds (pouring torrents of rain) in the rainy season. And those illustrious warriors shrouded with their shafts the welkin, the points of the compass, and the earth. And all creatures, the Kshatriyas, O king, and all the other combatants there, highly applauded that battle between them."
And the Panchalas, O king, loudly exclaimed, "Without doubt, Drona, having encountered Dhrishtadyumna in battle, will succumb to us." Then Drona, in that battle, quickly cut off the head of Dhristadyumna's charioteer like a person plucking a ripe fruit from a tree. Then the steeds, O king, of the high-souled Dhrishtadyumna ran away and after those steeds had carried away Dhrishtadyumna from the field, Drona, endued with great prowess, began to rout the Panchalas and the Srinjayas in that battle. Having vanquished the Pandus and the Panchalas, Bharadwaja's son of great prowess, that chastiser of foes, once more took up his station in the midst of his own array. And the Pandavas, O lord, ventured not to vanquish him in battle.

Drona was 1 among the 3 warriors/characters that were doing well that day (before bheem got his highlight):
"Thus, indeed, O lord of the earth, continued that carnage on the earth, when Arjuna and Drona and the mighty car-warrior Satyaki were all excited with wrath."
Vrihatkshatra vs Drona:
"Then that mighty car-warrior of the Kaikeyas, Vrihatkshatra, irresistible in battle, and the eldest of five brothers, rushed against him. Shooting many keen shafts, he greatly afflicted the preceptor, like a mighty mass of clouds pouring torrents of rain on the mountain of Gandhamadana. Then Drona, O king, excited with wrath sped at him five and ten shafts whetted on stone and equipped with wings of gold. The prince of the Kekayas, however, cheerfully cut off every one of those shafts shot by Drona, and which resembled angry snakes of virulent poison, with five shafts of his own. Beholding that lightness of hand displayed by him that bull among Brahmanas, then, sped at him eight straight shafts. Seeing those shafts shot from Drona's bow, swiftly coursing towards him, Vrihatkshatra in that battle resisted them with as many sharp shafts of his. Beholding that exceedingly difficult feat achieved by Vrihatkshatra, thy troops, O king, were filled with amazement. Then Drona, O monarch, applauding Vrihatkshatra, invoked into existence the irresistible and celestial weapon called Brahma in that battle."
Commentary;
Drona was getting desperate but he cannot be blamed as no one was pushed to such a far extent (having to fight different people for a long time) barring a few mards (arjun, satyaki, abhimanyu, bheem) although bhagdatt was powerful and fought multiple warriors the fact is he didnt do it for as long as Drona did. In normal combat with normal weapons & arrows a injured Dron is inferior to king Vrihatkshatra.
Vrihatkshatra's last moment:
"The prince of the Kekayas, seeing it shot by Drona in battle, baffled that Brahma weapon, O monarch, by a Brahma weapon of his own. After that weapon had been thus baffled, Vrihatkshatra, O Bharata, pierced the Brahmana with sixty shafts whetted on stone and equipped with wings of gold. Then Drona, that foremost of men, pierced the prince of the Kekayas with a powerful shaft which, penetrating through the latter's armour, (passed through his body and) entered the earth. As a black cobra, O best of kings, pierces through an ant-hill, even so did that shafts enter the earth, having pierced through the body of the Kekaya prince in that battle. Deeply pierced, O monarch, with the shafts of Drona, the prince of the Kekayas, filled with rage, and rolling his beautiful eyes, pierced Drona with seventy arrows whetted on stone and equipped with wings of gold."
"And with another arrow he greatly afflicted Drona's charioteer in this very vitals. Pierced by Vrihatkshatra, O sire, with arrows, Drona shot showers of keen shafts at the car of the Prince of the Kekayas. Depriving the mighty car-warrior, Vrihatkshatra, of his coolness, Drona then, with four-winged arrows, slew the four steeds of the former. With another arrow he felled Vrihatkshatra's charioteer from his niche in the car. And felling on the earth, with two other arrows, his enemy's standard and umbrella, that bull among Brahmanas, with a third shaft well-shot from his bow, pierced Vrihatkshatra himself in the chest. Thereupon, the latter, thus struck in the chest, fell down from his car."

Shisupal's son vs Drona:
Then Dhrishtaketu, that bull among the Chedis, swelling with might, rushed towards Drona for his own destruction like an insect upon a blazing fire. Soon he pierced Drona and his steeds and car and standard with sixty shafts. And once more he struck him with many other keen shafts like a man rousing a sleeping tiger. Then Drona, with a sharp razor-faced arrow winged with vulturine feathers, cut off the middle of the bow of that mighty warrior struggling in battle. Then that powerful car-warrior, the son of Sisupala, taking up another bow, pierced Drona with many shafts winged with the feathers of Kankas and peacocks. Drona then, slaying with four shafts the four steeds of Dhrishtaketu, smilingly cut off the head of the latter's charioteer from his trunk. And then he pierced Dhrishtaketu himself with five and twenty arrows."
Commentary; though Dristaketu had the edge initially as he injured drona many times with the latter doing nothing it is drona that prevails here because of his patience he waited for the right opportunity to strike his opponent and was successful in disarming him of most weapons.
Shisupal's sons last moment:
"The prince of the Chedis then, quickly jumping down from his car, took up a mace, and hurled it at the son of Bharadwaja like an angry snake. Beholding that heavy mace, endued with the strength of adamant and decked with gold, coursing towards him like Death, the son of Bharadwaja cut it off with many thousands of whetted arrows. That mace, cut off by Bharadwaja's son, O sire, with many shafts, fell down, O Kaurava, making the earth echo with its noise. Beholding his mace baffled, the wrathful and brave Dhrishtaketu hurled a lance and then a dart decked with gold. Cutting off that lance with five shafts, Drona cut off that dart also with five arrows. Both those missiles, thus cut off, fell down on the earth, like a couple of snakes mangled and torn by Garuda. The valiant son of Bharadwaja then, in that battle, sped for his destruction a keen shaft at Dhrishtaketu who was battling for the destruction of Bharadwaja himself. That shaft, piercing through the armour and breast of Dhrishtaketu of immeasurable energy, entered the earth, like a swan diving into a lake overgrown with lotuses. As a hungry jay seizes and devours a little insect, even so did the heroic Drona swallows up Dhrishtaketu in that great battle."
Commentary;
it's ironic to me that Drona needed over 1000 arrows to baffle a mace, still dristaketu was a offencive and energetic warrior, we should pay respects to him for not losing as much as karna did, unlike the pandav brothers this guy was brave enough to encounter drona at this stage. it is not fair on sanjays part to call Dristaketu a "insect" in my eyes this man was a brave tiger and karna was a "insect".

Drona annihlates the dynasty of Shisupal:
"Upon the slaughter of the ruler of the Chedis, his son who was conversant with the highest weapons, excited with wrath, sought to bear the burthen of his sire. Him also, Drona, smiling, despatched to the abode of Yama by means of his shafts, like a huge and mighty tiger in the deep woods slaying an infant deer."
Commentary;
truly sad to see not just shisupal's son but even his grandson, dead in the same chapter not even day.... he deserves a moment of silence. Drona was like Shiva in terms of destruction.
Drona fnishes the lineage of Jarasandh:
"While the Pandavas, O Bharata, were thus being thinned, the heroic, son of Jarasandha rushed towards Drona. Like the clouds shrouding the sun, he quickly made the mighty-armed Drona invisible in that battle by means of his arrowy showers. Beholding that lightness of hand in him, Drona, that grinder of Kshatriyas, quickly shot his shafts by hundreds and thousands. Covering (with his arrows) in that battle that foremost of car-warriors stationed on his car, Drona speedily slew the son Of Jarasandha in the very sight of all bowmen. Indeed, Drona, resembling the Destroyer himself, swallowing up every one who approached him then, like the Destroyer himself, swallowing up creatures when their hour arrives."
commentary; another legends family was killed by gurudev dronacharya

Dron slays unknown fighters:
Then the son of Bharadwaja, by means of his shafts, despatched those brave warriors struggling vigorously in battle, especially those forest ones among the Chedis, into the presence of the King of the dead. After those foremost ones among the Chedis had been exterminated, the Panchalas, afflicted with the shafts of Drona, began to tremble. Beholding, O sire, those feats of Drona, they loudly called after Bhimasena and Dhrishtadyumna, O Bharata, and said "This Brahmana hath, without doubt, practised the austerest of penances and acquired great ascetic merit. Inflamed with rage in battle, he consumeth the foremost of Kshatriyas. A Kshatriya's duty is battle; a Brahmana's, the highest asceticism. A Brahmana endued with ascetic merit and learning, is capable of burning everything by his glances only. Many foremost of Kshatriyas, having approached the uncrossable and fierce fire of Drona's weapons, have, O Bharata, been blasted and consumed. The illustrious Drona, to the measure of his might, courage, and perseverance, stupefies all creatures and slays our troops!"
Drona's final panchal win:
"The mighty Kshatradharman, rightly observant of the duties of a Kshatriya, wrathfully cut off with a crescent-shaped arrow the bow of Drona with arrow fixed thereon. Then Drona, that grinder of Kshatriyas, becoming more angry still, took up another bright bow, tougher than the one he had laid aside. Fixing on it a keen arrow, destructive of hostile ranks, the preceptor, endued with great strength, sped it at the prince, drawing the bowstring to his ear. That arrow, slaying Kshatradharman entered the earth. His breast pierced through, he fell down from his vehicle on the earth. Upon the slaughter of Dhrishtadyumna's son, the (Pandava) troops began to tremble."
commentary; though dhristadyumn achieved alot that day he also lost alot of sons and siblings all because of drona, its a fact that no bhishma or karna could ever achieve anything like this against dristadyumna
Dron vs chekitan:
"Then the mighty Chekitana fell upon Drona, Piercing Drona with ten arrows, he once more pierced him with a shaft in the centre of his chest. And he pierced Drona's charioteer with four arrows and his four steeds also with four. The Preceptor then pierced the right arm of Chekitana with sixteen arrows, and his standard with sixteen, and his charioteer with seven. Upon the charioteer being slain, Chekitana's steeds fled away, dragging the car after them. Beholding the steeds of Chekitana pierced with the arrows of Bharadwaja's son, and his car also deprived of driver, the Panchalas and the Pandavas were filled with great fear."
"The venerable Drona, full five and eighty years of age, dark in hue and with white locks descending to his cars, careered in battle like a youth of sixteen. Indeed, O king, enemies regarded the foe-slaying Drona."
Drona vs Bheem (part 1):
"Bhimasena rushed against Drona's division, and covered the elephant-force before him with showers of arrows. The son of the Wind-god, mangling with his shafts almost in no time that elephant division dispersed it in all directions. Indeed, like animals terrified in the forest at the roar of a Sarabha, those elephants all fled away, uttering frightful cries. Passing over that ground with speed, he then approached the division of Drona. Then the preceptor checked his course, like the continent resisting the surging sea. Smilingly, he struck the son of Pandu in his forehead with a shaft. Thereupon, the son of Pandu looked resplendent like the sun with upward rays."
"Bhima whirling a mace, like the Destroyer himself whirling his fatal rod, hurled it, O king, at Drona. Drona, however, had quickly jumped down from his car, (and that proved his safety). For that mace pressed down into the earth the car of Drona, with its steeds, driver, and standard. Then Bhima crushed numerous warriors like the tempest crushing trees with its force. Then those sons of thine once more encompassed that foremost of car-warriors. Meanwhile, Drona, that foremost of smiters mounting another chariot, proceeded to the gate of the array and stayed there for battle. Then, O king, the angry Bhima of great prowess, covered the car-division in his front with showers of shafts."
Drona vs Bheem (part 2):
"Drona, smiling the while, covered him with showers of arrows, desirous of checking his course. Stupefying thy force then with his powers of illusion, and drinking, as it were, those shafts shot from the bow of Drona, Bhimasena rushed against those brothers (viz., thy sons). Then many kings, that were all great bowmen, urged by thy sons, rushing impetuously, began to surround him."
Drona vs Bheem (part 3):
"While Bhimasena, that leader of leaders of car-divisions, was engaged in such carnage, Bharadwaja's son, O king, rushed at him. And Drona, checking Bhima by means of his arrowy showers, suddenly uttered a leonine roar that inspired the Pandavas with fear. The battle that took place between Drona and the high-souled Bhima was, O king, furious and terrible and resembled the encounter between the gods and the Asuras of old. Heroic warriors by hundreds and thousands in that battle slain by the keen shafts shot from the bow of Drona. The son of Pandu then, jumping down from his car shut his eyes, O king, and rushed on foot with great speed towards the car of Drona."
Drona vs Bheem (part 4):
"Bhima bore that arrowy downpour from Drona's bow. Struck in that battle, o sire, by Drona, the mighty Bhima, seizing Drona's car by the shaft, threw it down with great force. Thus thrown down in battle, O king, Drona, however, quickly mounting another car, proceeded towards the gate of the array, his driver urging his steeds at that time with great speed. That feat, O thou of Kuru's race, achieved by Bhimasena, seemed exceedingly wonderful. The mighty Bhima, then, mounting upon his own car, rushed impetuously towards the army of thy son."

Drona's last plan and advice to Duryodhan:
The Bharata army hath been attacked both on the front and from behind. In this pass, I think, the protection of the ruler of the Sindhus is our first duty. Jayadratha, afraid of Dhananjaya, deserves of everything else to be protected by us. The heroic Yuyudhana and Vrikodara have both gone against the ruler of the Sindhus."

"At present, however, O king, know the combatants for players, these shafts for dice, and the ruler of the Sindhus, without doubt, O monarch, as the stake, in this game of battle. Indeed, Jayadratha is the great stake about which we are playing today with the enemy. Under the circumstances, therefore, O monarch, all of us becoming reckless of our very lives, should make due arrangements for the protection of the ruler of the Sindhus in battle."
"Engaged as we are in our present sport, it is here that we shall have victory or defeat, here, that is, where those great bowmen are protecting the ruler of the Sindhus. Go thither, therefore, with speed, and protect those protectors (of Jayadratha). As regards myself, I will stay here, for despatching others (to the presence of Jayadratha) and checking the Panchalas, the Pandus and the Srinjayas united together. Thus commanded by the preceptor, Duryodhana quickly proceeded (to the place indicated) with his followers, resolutely setting himself to (the accomplishment of) a fierce task"
Offscreen ending of Drona's day:
"Vrikodara, had sent him that message by the sign agreed upon, Yudhishthira, that foremost of persons acquainted with weapons, filled with joy, rushed against Drona in battle."
"Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, bearing that tremendous shout understood that the ruler of the Sindhus had been slain by the high-souled Phalguna. With sounds of drums and other instruments he gladdened the warriors of his own army, and proceeded against the son of Bharadwaja from desire of battle. Then commenced, O king, after the sun had set, a fierce battle between Drona and the Somakas, that made the very hair stand on end."
"Pandavas, having got the victory by slaying the ruler of the Sindhus fought with Drona, intoxicated with success. Arjuna, also, O king, having slain king Jayadratha, fought with many mighty car-warriors of thy army."
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Only night encounter ever.
14th night.
ill talk about it later when i edit this post
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Last day.
15th day.

Ranking his days:
This will be from best to worst (bottom) as a list.
Day 12 (great) drona not only defeated satyaki and killed 8 captains (the following) satyajit, vrika, satanika, kshema, dridhasen, vasudeva, kshatradev, panchala (unamed prince). But he also made Yudhisthir run away twice. The 12th day really showed the power of Drona as he was able to accomplish so much in a single chapter. After this he went on to save karna's life the same day.

Day 6 - he defeated drupad, dhrishtadyumn, protected the lives of fifty kaurav brothers, baffled the sammohanastra



Day 8 - this may have been the worst day for Drona as a warrior. The brahmin king was defeated twice, the first time was in a fair arrow battle with Bheem and the second time was by Ghatotkatch when Drona had the assistance of Suyodhan, Ashwathama & Madra Raj Shalya. His 3rd bad moment was being unable to protect the brothers of Suyodhan. Even if this is not the worse of his days it is still the begininng of the end for him as this day was the 1st one where Drona was failing in his missions.

Day 13 - the power of abhimanyu and the reluctance of Drona to tell anyone his enemies weak points. Drona's highlight moment was his performance against the 20 warriors during morning time, but even if we ignore abhimanyu this remains his worst day, as he had all the advantages yet still failed to do something as simple as capturing yudhisthir.
After abhimanyu's death the sun did not completely set it was still up, all obstacles of drona were either dead (abhimanyu) far away (arjun) or they were held in check (satyaki, bheem) by jayadrath. The coast was clear for Drona to make his move. If he had just tried then i would give him credit but he failed to try, i know if he tried he might fail as he failed on the 14th day when he tried capturing Yudhishthir.
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Win loss ratio;
He won more than he ever lost. He has beaten each warrior of the Pandava army convincingly except arjun as it is disputed on the 14th day.
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Defending the losses of Drona.
I will update this later depending on the circumstances.
Day 8 (Ghatotkatch) - pretty much the only time this character won against Drona. It was cause of magic that Drona was unprepared to counter. For Ghatotkatch even Bhishma was unable to nutralize his magic. The answer to him was Bhagdatt only.

Day 9 (Abhimanyu)

Day 11 (Arjun)

Day 13 (Abhimanyu) - yes abhimanyu is a skilled warrior but the fact is Drona knew his weak points i believe Drona sometimes lost on purpose or he refused to utilize his full power.

Day 14 (Satyaki) - though its true that Drona was exhausted from his initial encounters with dhrishtadyumn, yudhisthir and a long battle with arjun the fact is that Drona countered that weakness by having a strong support team of 8 kuru brothers, the problem is he still lost and this was a fair loss because satyaki had no divine chariot, or superior driver (he obtained those things briefly after bhurishravas death only). The only thing i have to say in his defence is that Drona had not used his full arsenal of divine weapons. Perhaps he was demotivated as his focus turned from saving jaydrath, to checking arjun, then to checking satyaki, after that to capturing yudhisthir.

Day 14 (Dhrishtadyumn) - their is one incident this day where dhrishtadyumn won but the thing is he was caught off gaurd. Drona was not alert, he had good reasons to be because he just slayed 5 warriors that were dangerous to his army and to him, he felt like the coast was clear. And since he defeated Dhrishtadyumn on multiple occasions Drona felt too confident, so he did not take him seriously. The man was quick to not make the same error again, once he was back at top form Drona won the next fight with his opponent. Also we have to consider how dhrishtadyumn was more fresh than drona as he hadn't exerted himself as much.

Day 14 (Bheem) - this was after Drona exerted himself against not just arjun, satyaki, yudhisthir, dhrishtadyumn etc, but even against Sisupal's son, Jarasandh's son & the mighty brahmastra owner vrihatkshatra, he also had a hard time defeating Viraketu a pancala raj kumar. So Dron was not at full power due to injuries, lack of food, equipment, and a huge amount of fatigue. Up till that point for the day Bheem had only fought 2 warriors (alamvusha & kritvarma) so its not fair to say Bheem was fatigued, as both of those guys are inferior to dhrishtadyumn & satyaki. Bheem defeated a Drona that was at most 40 percent of his maximum power/ability. Bheem was also using illusions as per the 124th chapter of drona parva. The true ability of Drona is recognized when he defeated bheem and 19 to 20 other warriors at the 13th morning.

Night 14 (Yudhisthir)
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Drona vs Arjun on the 14th day is disputed.
Karna claims that Drona lost to Arjun (not the other way around as people claim) still Drona had the 4th best performance today (after arjun, bheem and satyaki it was drona who was the most lethal fighter).
quote "That Brahmana is fighting according to the measure of his power and courage and regardless of his very life. If Arjuna, of white steeds, having transgressed him, penetrated into our array, the slightest fault does not, for that, attach to the preceptor. Phalguna is accomplished in weapons, possessed of great activity, endued with youth; he is a hero who has mastered all arms; he is distinguished for the celerity of his movements. Armed with celestial weapons and mounted on his ape-bannered car, the reins of whose steeds again were in the hands of Krishna, cased in impenetrable armour, and taking his celestial bow Gandiva of unfading might, the valiant Arjuna, scattering keen arrows, and proud of the strength of his arms, transgressed Drona. There is nothing to wonder at this."

After drona i would place kritvarma as the top performer today then bhurishravas at 6th each of these people did better than karna (who was the 7th that particular day). From the kuru side it was Drona who did the best he was the only man putting up a true fight.

Why Drona was not at fault during the 14th day.

Can we still blame Drona? Im sure Bhishma would have either done worse or not won at all. And karna lost as usual when he confronted a angry version of Arjuna. Because of karna's action of facing Bheem many people on the kaurav army died as Duryodhan sent many of his brothers to sacrifice their lives against Bheem in order to protect Karna only not Jayadratha. Even Karna's son Vrishasen who was supposed to protect Jayadrath in the rear left his position to come to his namard fathers aid.

These people failed to follow Drona's order. The mission to save Jayadrath from arjun ended up becoming "save karna from bheem" for a huge part of this day. Bhishma was scared of such confrontations he would not last as long as Drona did (fighting angry arjun) if Bhishma was on the field when Abhimanyu was killed.

He already prepared a perfect plan & strategy within a short amount of time. But his team mates the people he was in charge of those warriors that refused to follow his command at crucial moments, rejected his orders etc betrayed him. They let their personal rivalries get the better of their loyalty to Drona. An example is karna's actions that day, he chose to follow the brothers of duryodhan as he heard they were being killed by Bheem, so karna left his position like an idiot. This left jaydrath with less protection as even karn's elder son (Vrishasen) abandoned Jaydrath so he could protect Karna from Bheem. Karna did not realise that Duryodhan cared more about Jaydrath's life than that of his brothers lives (as Jaydrath surviving would result in Arjun's death) this was karna's problem.

This created a chain reaction as Duryodhan had to send many of his own brothers to karna's aid in the battle with Bheem, those 31 brothers could have saved Jaydraths life because Arjun would not kill them due to them all being the targets of his brother (Bheem). Another example is Bhurishravas, as soon as the man heard of Satyaki's approach he feared that another warrior might kill him, so Bhurishravas chose to abandon his position and fight with powerful Satyaki, he not only ended up dead but also caused Jayadrath to get killed as he had even less protection now, how can we forget how Duryodhan repeatedly left his posisition too? He went to talk to Drona each time while Drona was on the front lines.

As for which kourav warrior was the most useful, caused the most damage, benefitted Duryodhan the most.. well clearly Drona proved that he surpasses all this day as he slayed important generals, kings, princes of the pandav army this day. He was the only answer to Arjun, Bheem, Satyaki etc. The only counter card that Suyodhana had up his sleeve. If anyone was at fauly this day then it is the warriors Drona assigned with the task of protecting Jayadrath, as not just karna, duryodhana, suyodhana's brothers etc or Bhurishravas but even Shalya left his position to face his own enemy (Yudhisthir). If these people listened to Drona then their army would have had better success.

To put it simply; he did his job well, Drona checked Arjun for a considerable amount of time but his allies refused to support him and follow the instructions he told them too, after Arjun moved away from Drona then Drona knew he would not be able to chase him so he decided to do the smartest thing and that is go on the offencive instead of defencive. Because if he doesn't then many more warriors will come inside the kaurav army and destroy it making Arjun's task easier (not just Bheem, Satyaki etc but even Virat, Drupad, Ghatotkatch, Yudhisthir, Brihatkshatra all warriors better than Hanuman could have entered the army). He decided to make his personal goal the capture of Yudhisthir as he knew his allies had failed him, they lacked the ability to follow orders.
If anyone should be blamed for Jayadrath's death then it should be karna, duryodhan and dhritarashtra.

BOMBAY KA NAYA BAAP DRONACHARYA!
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