Shloka 373
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
तां दर्शय स्थिरो भूत्वा न मे जीवन विमोक्ष्यसे । “दुन्तीके पुत्रोंके प्रति जो तेरा द्वेषभाव और कौरवोंके प्रति जो भक्तिभाव है, उसे स्थिर होकर दिखा। तू जीते-जी मेरे हाथसे छुटकारा नहीं पा सकेगा
tāṁ darśaya sthiro bhūtvā na me jīvana-vimokṣyase |
Sañjaya said: “Show that—standing firm. You will not escape me while you still live.” The line conveys a coercive demand for unwavering allegiance and hostility, framing loyalty as something to be proven under threat rather than chosen through dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical inversion common in wartime rhetoric: loyalty and enmity are demanded as proofs of belonging, enforced by threat. It implicitly contrasts coercive allegiance with dharmic conduct, where right action should arise from discernment rather than fear.
A speaker (introduced as Sañjaya) reports a forceful command: someone is ordered to demonstrate steadfastness, with the warning that they will not be allowed to escape alive. The surrounding prose gloss (in the provided Hindi) frames this as being about showing fixed hatred toward the sons of Pāṇḍu and devotion toward the Kauravas.