Shloka 1
उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations
/ (दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ७ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ५१ श्लोक हैं।) चतुष्पञ्चाशर्दाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: रात्रियुद्धमें पाण्डव-सैनिकोंका द्रोणाचार्यपर आक्रमण और द्रोणाचार्यद्वारा उनका संहार धृतराष्ट्र रवाच यत् तदा प्राविशत् पाण्डूनाचार्य: कुपितो बली । उक्त्वा दुर्योधन मन्दं मम शास्त्रातिगं सुतम्,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! मेरी आज्ञाका उल्लंघन करनेवाले मेरे मूर्ख पुत्र दुर्योधनसे पूर्वोक्त बातें कहकर क्रोधमें भरे हुए बलवान् आचार्य द्रोणने जब वहाँ पाण्डव-सेनामें प्रवेश किया, उस समय रथपर बैठकर सेनाके भीतर प्रवेश करके सब ओर विचरते हुए महाधनुर्धर शूरवीर द्रोणाचार्यको पाण्डवोंने किस प्रकार रोका?
sañjaya uvāca | dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yat tadā prāviśat pāṇḍūn ācāryaḥ kupito balī | uktvā duryodhanaṃ mandaṃ mama śāstrātigaṃ sutam |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asked: “Sañjaya, when the mighty preceptor Droṇa—angered after rebuking my dull-witted son Duryodhana for overstepping my command—entered the Pāṇḍava host and moved about within the army from his chariot, how did the Pāṇḍavas check and confront that great archer? In that night-battle, by what means did they attempt to restrain him as he began to cut down their forces?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical tension central to the epic: when authority and discipline (śāstra/ājñā) are violated by leaders, even revered figures like a teacher-warrior may act in anger, and the battlefield becomes a stage where personal failings amplify collective suffering. It highlights the importance of restraint, obedience to rightful command, and the dangerous consequences of pride and insubordination in war.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to describe how the Pāṇḍavas tried to stop Droṇa after Droṇa, furious and powerful, rebuked Duryodhana for transgressing Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s instruction and then drove into the Pāṇḍava ranks during the night-fighting, moving about in his chariot and slaughtering troops.