Shloka 1
अध्याय ३१ — द्रोणानीके तुमुलसंग्रामः
The Tumultuous Battle around Droṇa’s Formation
अपन बछ। है २ >> एकत्रिशो< ध्याय: कौरव-पाण्डव-सेनाओंका घमासान युद्ध तथा अभश्रत्थामाके द्वारा राजा नीलका वध धृतराष्ट्र रवाच तेष्वनीकेषु भग्नेषु पाण्डुपुत्रेण संजय | चलितानां द्रुतानां च कथमासीन्मनो हि व:,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके द्वारा पराजित हो जब सारी सेनाएँ भाग खड़ी हुईं, उस समय विचलित हो पलायन करते हुए तुमलोगोंके मनकी कैसी अवस्था हो रही थी?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | teṣv anīkeṣu bhagneṣu pāṇḍuputreṇa sañjaya | calitānāṁ drutānāṁ ca katham āsīn mano hi vaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, when those battle-formations were shattered by the son of Pāṇḍu (Arjuna), and the troops—shaken and fleeing in haste—broke ranks, what was the state of your minds then?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological dimension of war: when power and righteousness (here, Arjuna’s force on the battlefield) overturn an army, the decisive factor becomes the mind—panic, steadiness, or duty. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious inquiry also reflects attachment to outcome and the insecurity that follows a course rooted in adharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions Sañjaya about the moment when Arjuna broke the opposing battle-formations and the troops began to waver and flee. He asks specifically about the mental state of those in retreat, setting up Sañjaya’s account of the ensuing fierce engagements in Droṇa Parva.