Shloka 72
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 96: Sātyaki’s Line-Penetration, Encirclement, and Advance toward Arjuna
बद्ध्वा तु कवचं तस्य मन्त्रेण विधिपूर्वकम् | प्रेषयामास राजानं युद्धाय महते द्विज:,इस प्रकार मन्त्रके द्वारा राजा दुर्योधनके शरीरमें विधिपूर्वक कवच बाँधकर विप्रवर द्रोणाचार्यने उसे महान् युद्धके लिये भेजा
baddhvā tu kavacaṃ tasya mantreṇa vidhipūrvakam | preṣayāmāsa rājānaṃ yuddhāya mahate dvijaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Having duly fastened that king’s armour upon him according to prescribed rite, and sealing it with mantra, the brahmin Drona sent King Duryodhana forth for the great battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s tension between ritual correctness and ethical consequence: sacred procedures (mantra, vidhi) can be employed in service of war, showing how dharma is often enacted through roles and duties even when the larger conflict is morally fraught.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, acting as a brahmin-warrior preceptor, ritually secures Duryodhana’s armor with mantras and then dispatches him to participate in the great battle.