Shloka 35
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
ततो राजा दशार्णानां प्राग्ज्योतिषमुपाद्रवत्
tato rājā daśārṇānāṃ prāgjyotiṣam upādravat
Sañjaya said: Thereupon the king of the Daśārṇas charged against Prāgjyotiṣa, pressing the attack forward in the thick of battle—an episode that underscores how, in war, rulers drive their forces by decisive aggression, even as such momentum deepens the cycle of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya-war ethos: leaders act decisively and press attacks to protect their side’s interests. Implicitly, it also points to the moral tension of warfare—strategic resolve can be necessary, yet it perpetuates harm and escalation.
Sañjaya reports that the king leading the Daśārṇa forces advances and attacks Prāgjyotiṣa (its forces/region), indicating a specific clash within the wider Drona Parva battlefield movements.