Shloka 11
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
संजयने कहा--राजन्! तदनन्तर जितनी सेनाएँ मरनेसे बची हुई थीं, उन सबको तथा सेनापतियोंको आदेश देकर दुर्योधनने उनका पुनः व्यूह-निर्माण करवाया ।। द्रोण: पुरस्ताज्जघने तु शल्य- स्तथा द्रौणि: पार्श्वृत: सौबलश्न । स्वयं तु सर्वाणि बलानि राजन् राजाभ्ययाद् गोपयन् वै निशायाम्,राजन! उस व्यूहके अग्रभागमें द्रोणाचार्य, मध्यभागमें शल्य तथा पार्श्चभागमें अश्वत्थामा और शकुनि थे। स्वयं राजा दुर्योधन उस रात्रिके समय सम्पूर्ण सेनाओंकी रक्षा करता हुआ युद्धके लिये आगे बढ़ रहा था
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! tadanantaraṁ yāvatyaḥ senā maraṇāt paritrātāḥ śeṣāḥ, tāḥ sarvāḥ senāḥ senāpatīṁś ca ājñāpya duryodhanaḥ punar vyūha-nirmāṇaṁ kārayām āsa. droṇaḥ purastāj jaghane tu śalyaḥ tathā drauṇiḥ pārśvataḥ saubalaś ca. svayaṁ tu sarvāṇi balāni rājan rājābhyayād gopayan vai niśāyām.
Sañjaya said: O King, thereafter Duryodhana, having issued orders to all the surviving troops and to the commanders, had the battle-formation arranged anew. At the front stood Droṇa; in the rear was Śalya; on the flanks were Aśvatthāmā (the son of Droṇa) and Saubala (Śakuni). And the king himself—Duryodhana—advanced in the night, guarding and steadying the entire force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores wartime leadership and accountability: after losses, a ruler must reorganize survivors, assign capable protectors to key positions, and personally safeguard morale and cohesion—yet it also implicitly raises the ethical tension of persisting in violence despite devastation.
After a severe phase of fighting, Duryodhana orders the remaining Kaurava troops and commanders to re-form a new vyūha. Droṇa is placed at the front, Śalya at the rear, and Aśvatthāmā with Śakuni on the flanks, while Duryodhana advances at night protecting the whole force.