Shloka 29
आचार्य-क्षमा, देśa–kāla-नīti, तथा भेद-दोषः
Teacher-Reconciliation, Timing-Policy, and the Fault of Factionalism
भवतां रोमकूपाणि प्रद्ृष्टान्युपलक्षये । ध्रुवं विनाशो युद्धेन क्षत्रियाणां प्रदृश्यते,कौरवो! मैं देखता हूँ, तुम्हारे रोंगटे खड़े हो गये हैं; अतः निश्चय ही, इस युद्धके द्वारा क्षत्रियोंका विनाश निकट दिखायी देता है
bhavatāṃ romakūpāṇi pradr̥ṣṭāny upalakṣaye | dhruvaṃ vināśo yuddhena kṣatriyāṇāṃ pradr̥śyate ||
Droṇa said: “I can see the hair-follicles on your body standing up in alarm. From this, it is clear to me that through this war the destruction of the kṣatriyas is already coming into view.”
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames bodily fear (gooseflesh) as an omen and a moral warning: war, even when pursued under kṣatriya duty, tends toward large-scale ruin. It highlights the ethical gravity of choosing battle and the near-inevitability of widespread loss once war is set in motion.
Droṇa addresses a Kaurava and remarks that he observes signs of terror—hair standing on end—interpreting this as a portent that the impending conflict will bring certain destruction to the warrior class.