Shloka 243
द्रोणवध-प्रश्नः
Droṇa’s Fall: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry
शूरं शिखण्डिन: पुत्रम॒क्षदेवमुदावहन् । शिखण्डीके शूरवीर पुत्र ऋक्षदेवको पद्मकेः समान वर्ण और निर्मल नेत्रवाले बाह्विकः देशके सजे-सजाये घोड़ोंने रणभूमिमें पहुँचाया
sañjaya uvāca | śūraṃ śikhaṇḍinaḥ putram akṣadevam udāvahan |
Sañjaya said: The warriors brought forth Akṣadeva, the valiant son of Śikhaṇḍin, conveying him into the field of battle. In the moral atmosphere of the war, the verse highlights how lineage, personal valor, and the organized support of one’s side (chariot and horses) become instruments through which a fighter is placed into the arena where duty and destruction intertwine.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s recurrent ethic that in wartime a warrior’s role is shaped by dharma as understood through lineage and martial obligation, while also showing how individual valor depends on collective support and orderly deployment.
Sanjaya reports that Akṣadeva, the brave son of Śikhaṇḍin, is brought forward and conveyed into the battle—an announcement of a combatant’s arrival and readiness within the unfolding formations of the Drona Parva conflict.