Shloka 29
Droṇa’s Resolve to Restrain Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna’s Protective Vow (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरनिग्रह-प्रयत्नः)
संजय उवाच सान्तरं तु प्रतिज्ञाते राज्ञो द्रोणेन निग्रहे | गृहीतं तममन्यन्त तव पुत्रा: सुबालिशा:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन! द्रोणाचार्यने कुछ अन्तर रखकर जब राजा युधिष्ठिरको पकड़ लानेकी प्रतिज्ञा कर ली, तब आपके मूर्ख पुत्र उन्हें कैद हुआ ही मानने लगे
sañjaya uvāca sāntaraṃ tu pratijñāte rājño droṇena nigrahe | gṛhītaṃ tam amanyanta tava putrāḥ subāliśāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, when Droṇa, keeping a certain reservation, vowed to seize the king (Yudhiṣṭhira), your sons—foolish in their judgment—already assumed him to be as good as captured.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against premature certainty and arrogant triumphalism: a vow made with conditions (sāntaram) does not guarantee immediate success, and ethical-strategic clarity is lost when one mistakes desire for reality.
Droṇa makes a pledge to seize King Yudhiṣṭhira, but with some qualification or tactical ‘gap.’ Hearing this, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons assume Yudhiṣṭhira is effectively already captured, revealing their rashness and lack of discernment.