Shloka 17

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय २७: सुशर्माह्वानम्, अर्जुनस्य प्रतिनिवर्तनम्, भगदत्तेन गजप्रहारः

Devanagari script

स तु दोलायमानो< भूद द्वैधीभावेन पाण्डव: । वधेन तु नराग्रयाणामकरोत्‌ तां मृषा तदा

Transliteration

sa tu dolāyamāno 'bhūd dvaidhībhāvena pāṇḍavaḥ | vadhena tu narāgrayāṇām akarot tāṃ mṛṣā tadā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Torn by inner conflict and wavering in a divided mind, the Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) then spoke that falsehood—urged on by the prospect of slaying the foremost of men—at that very moment.

Word by Word

सःhe

तुbut/indeed

दोलायमानःwavering, swinging (in mind)

अभूत्became/was

द्वैधीभावेनby indecision/double-mindedness

पाण्डवःthe Pandava (Arjuna)

वधेनby killing/slaughter

तुbut/indeed

नराग्रयाणाम्of the foremost men

अकरोत्did/made

ताम्that (statement/thing)

मृषाfalsely/untruly

तदाthen/at that time

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

प

पाण्डव (Pāṇḍava—Yudhiṣṭhira implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a person devoted to truth can be shaken by extreme circumstances; war creates ethical pressure where expediency tempts one toward untruth. The verse underscores the inner cost of compromising dharma, especially when the aim is to bring down powerful opponents.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍava (understood as Yudhiṣṭhira) wavering in a divided mental state and, at that moment, speaking a falsehood connected with the plan to cause the fall of leading warriors—part of the larger strategy unfolding in Droṇa Parva.