Shloka 37
Adhyāya 143: Nocturnal duels—Nākuli and Citraseṇa; Vṛṣasena’s assault; Duḥśāsana vs Prativindhya
नित्यमाशंसते द्रोण: कच्चित् स्थात् कुशली नृप:,'जैसे बाजपक्षी मांसपर झपट्टा मारता है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणाचार्य प्रतिदिन धर्मराजको बंदी बनाना चाहते हैं। क्या राजा युधिष्ठिर सकुशल होंगे?”
sañjaya uvāca | nityam āśaṃsate droṇaḥ kaccit sthāt kuśalī nṛpaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “Droṇa constantly longs to seize Dharmarāja—swooping upon him like a hawk upon flesh. Will King Yudhiṣṭhira remain safe and unharmed?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, strategic aims can fixate on a single moral-political center: capturing Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja) would destabilize the Pāṇḍava cause. It also frames the ethical tension between dharma (embodied by Yudhiṣṭhira) and the ruthless calculus of battlefield objectives.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa is persistently intent on taking Yudhiṣṭhira captive, likening the attempt to a hawk’s sudden strike on prey, and he anxiously asks whether Yudhiṣṭhira is safe.