Shloka 136
कुरुक्षेत्रे सेनानिवेशवृत्तान्तः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Questions Saṃjaya on the Deployed Armies
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
droṇānta-hetor utpanno ya iddhāj jātavedasaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: “He who was born from the blazing sacrificial fire for the very purpose of bringing about Droṇa’s end—him, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Yudhiṣṭhira duly installed as chief commander over the entire host, after appointing the leading war-eager heroes to command.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between dharma-guided governance and the grim necessities of war: leadership appointments are made ‘according to rule’ (vidhi), yet the commander’s very birth is framed by a destined purpose—ending a revered teacher’s life—showing how ritual, fate, and ethical burden converge in the epic.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira formally installs commanders for the coming battle and makes Dhṛṣṭadyumna the principal commander of the armies, emphasizing that Dhṛṣṭadyumna was born from the sacrificial fire with the specific destiny of bringing about Droṇa’s end.