Shloka 22
Somadatta–Sātyaki Engagement; Bhīma’s Interventions; Droṇa–Yudhiṣṭhira Astra Exchange
Book 7, Chapter 132
विनय, था, सैन्धवस्य रणे रक्षां विधिवत् कर्तुमर्हथ । तत्र नो ग्लहमानानां ध्रुवी जयपराजयौ,महाराज! सिंधुराजके ही जीवनकी बाजी लगाकर शत्रुओंके साथ हमारी भारी द्यूतक्रीड़ा चल रही है। यहाँ तुम सब लोग अपने जीवनका मोह छोड़कर रणभूमिमें विधिपूर्वक जयद्रथकी रक्षा करो। निश्चय ही उसीपर हम द्यूतक्रीड़ा करनेवालोंकी असली हार-जीत निर्भर है
vinayathā saindhavasya raṇe rakṣāṃ vidhivat kartum arhatha | tatra no glahamānānāṃ dhruvī jayaparājayau mahārāja | sindhurājake hi jīvanakī bājī lagākar śatrubhiḥ sārdhaṃ asmākaṃ bhārī dyūtakrīḍā calati | atra yūyaṃ sarve jīvanamohaṃ tyaktvā raṇabhūmau vidhipūrvakaṃ jayadrathasya rakṣāṃ kuruta | niścayaṃ hi tasminn eva asmākaṃ dyūtakrīḍā-kartṝṇām asali hār-jīt nirbhar hai ||
Drona said: “You must, in proper order and with due discipline, undertake the protection of the Sindhu prince in battle. For there, O King, the certain victory or defeat of us who are engaged in this wager depends. Indeed, with our very lives staked, a fierce game of dice is being played between us and the enemy. Therefore, casting off attachment to life, all of you should protect Jayadratha on the battlefield according to the rules of war; on him alone rests our true loss or gain.”
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames wartime duty as disciplined, rule-bound action (vidhivat) even under extreme stakes. It urges warriors to set aside fear and attachment to life and to focus on protecting a strategically crucial person, showing how leadership mobilizes collective responsibility while invoking dharma as ‘proper conduct’ in battle.
Droṇa commands his side to guard Jayadratha (the Sindhu king/prince) on the battlefield. He portrays the conflict as a high-stakes ‘dice game’ where their victory or defeat hinges on Jayadratha’s safety, implying that the enemy’s plan (and their counter-plan) centers on him.