Shloka 40
तमब्रवीन्महाराज पुत्रस्तव विशाम्पते,महाराज! प्रजानाथ! तब आपके पुत्रने उनसे कहा--'द्विजश्रेष्ठी] आपका कल्याण हो। यदि आप मेरा प्रिय करना चाहते हैं तो मेरी आज्ञासे द्रोणपुत्रका सेनापतिके पदपर अभिषेक कीजिये
tam abravīn mahārāja putras tava viśāmpate | mahārāja prajānātha tava putro 'bravīt—“dvijaśreṣṭha svasti te | yadi tvaṁ mama priyaṁ kartum icchasi tarhi mamājñayā droṇaputrasya senāpatipade 'bhiṣekaṁ kuru” ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O großer König, o Herr des Volkes!“ Da wandte sich dein Sohn an ihn und sagte: „Bester der Brahmanen, Heil sei dir. Wenn du tun willst, was mir lieb ist, dann weihe auf meinen Befehl den Sohn Droṇas in das Amt des Heerführers ein.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in wartime, decisions about authority and leadership are often driven by personal loyalty and urgency rather than calm deliberation. It implicitly raises an ethical tension: the king’s duty to act for the realm versus the pressure to satisfy a son’s demand and escalate conflict through a hardline commander.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the king’s son speaks to a leading Brahmin/elder and asks that Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman) be formally installed as commander-in-chief of the army, indicating a strategic shift in Kaurava leadership during the Shalya Parva.