Shloka 11
कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies
वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो द्रुपदमानाय्य विराटं शिनिपुज्भवम् | धृष्टद्युम्नं च पाज्चाल्यं धृष्टकेतुं च पार्थिव,द्रोणान्तहेतोरुत्पन्नो य इद्धाज्जातवेदस: । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! तदनन्तर राजा द्रुपद, विराट, सात्यकि, पांचालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्न, धृष्टकेतु, पांचालवीर शिखण्डी और मगधराज सहदेव--इन सात युद्धाभिलाषी महाभाग वीरोंको युधिष्छिरने विधिपूर्वक सेनापतिके पदपर अभिषिक्त कर दिया और धृष्टद्युम्नको सम्पूर्ण सेनाओंका प्रधान सेनापति बना दिया, जो द्रोणाचार्यका अन्त करनेके लिये प्रज्वलित अग्निसे उत्पन्न हुए थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tato drupadam ānīya virāṭaṃ śinipuṅgavam | dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca pāñcālyaṃ dhṛṣṭaketuṃ ca pārthiva | droṇānta-hetor utpanno ya iddhāj jātavedasaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then they brought forward King Drupada and King Virāṭa—the foremost among the Śinis—together with Dhṛṣṭadyumna of the Pāñcālas and King Dhṛṣṭaketu. Yudhiṣṭhira, in due form and by the prescribed rites, consecrated the commanders; and there he made Dhṛṣṭadyumna commander-in-chief of the entire host. He was born from the blazing sacrificial fire, destined to be the cause of Droṇa’s end—an appointment sanctified by ritual and fate, yet shadowed by the grave moral weight of setting a man’s very origin upon the slaying of a revered teacher.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war leadership is framed through ritual and destiny: appointing a commander is not merely strategic but morally charged, especially when the leader’s very origin is tied to the foretold killing of a revered teacher (Droṇa). It invites reflection on dharma under conflict—how duty, vengeance, and sacred sanction can collide.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that key allied kings and heroes are assembled, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—born from the blazing sacrificial fire—is identified/installed as the principal commander, specifically marked as the instrument for bringing about Droṇa’s end.