Shloka 9
Droṇa’s Resolve to Restrain Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna’s Protective Vow (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरनिग्रह-प्रयत्नः)
किमर्थ च नरव्यात्र न वध॑ तस्य काड्क्षसे | नाशंससि क्रियामेतां मत्तो दुर्योधन ध्रुवम्,'पुरुषसिंह! तुम्हें उनके वधकी इच्छा क्यों नहीं हो रही है? दुर्योधन! तुम मेरे द्वारा निश्चितरूपसे युधिष्ठिरका वध कराना क्यों नहीं चाहते हो?
kimarthaṃ ca naravyāghra na vadhaṃ tasya kāṅkṣase | nāśaṃsasi kriyām etāṃ matto duryodhana dhruvam ||
Sañjaya said: “For what reason, O tiger among men, do you not desire his death? O Duryodhana, why do you not approve this deed—certainly to be carried out through me—namely, the assured slaying of Yudhiṣṭhira?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension within wartime decision-making: even when victory seems to demand extreme measures, hesitation and consent matter. It implicitly contrasts impulsive violence with deliberation, showing how moral restraint (or its absence) shapes leadership and responsibility.
Sañjaya challenges Duryodhana’s reluctance, asking why he does not desire Yudhiṣṭhira’s death and why he will not sanction a decisive action that Sañjaya claims could be accomplished through him. The exchange underscores strategic urgency and the moral weight of targeting a principal opponent.