Shloka 3
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
प्रिया हि पाण्डवा नित्यं मम चापि पितुश्न मे । तथैवावां प्रियौ तेषां न तु युद्धे कुरूद्वह,“कुरुश्रेष्ठ! पाण्डव मुझे तथा मेरे पिताजीको भी बहुत प्रिय हैं। इसी प्रकार उनको भी हम दोनों पिता-पुत्र प्रिय हैं, किंतु युद्धस्थलमें हमारा यह भाव नहीं रहता
priyā hi pāṇḍavā nityaṃ mama cāpi pituś ca me | tathaivāvāṃ priyau teṣāṃ na tu yuddhe kurūdvaha ||
Sañjaya said: “The Pāṇḍavas are always dear to me, and to my father as well. In the same way, we—father and son—are dear to them. Yet, O bull among the Kurus, on the battlefield this feeling does not prevail.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Affection and long-standing relationships can be real and mutual, yet the conditions of war suppress or override such sentiments; the verse highlights the ethical tragedy that battle forces people to act against personal bonds.
Sañjaya addresses a Kuru leader (likely Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and states that the Pāṇḍavas are dear to him and his father, and that this affection is reciprocated; however, once the scene shifts to the battlefield, that mutual warmth does not govern conduct.