Shloka 37
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
न केनचिदुपायेन कुरूणां दृश्यते जय: । तस्मान्मे सर्वमाचक्ष्व यथा युद्धमवर्तत,किसी भी उपायसे कौरवोंकी जय होती नहीं दिखायी देती। इसलिये तुम मुझसे सब समाचार कहो। वह युद्ध किस प्रकार हुआ?
na kenacid upāyena kurūṇāṃ dṛśyate jayaḥ | tasmān me sarvam ācakṣva yathā yuddham avartata |
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Par aucun stratagème la victoire des Kuru ne paraît possible. Dis-moi donc tout au complet : comment cette bataille s’est-elle déroulée ? »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the limits of mere strategy (upāya) when the moral and situational tide has turned: victory cannot be forced by tactics alone, and truthful, complete narration is sought to understand how events unfold.
Vaiśampāyana, continuing the war account, states that no method seems to secure victory for the Kurus and urges a full report of the battle’s course—setting a tone of impending Kaurava failure and detailed narration of the fighting.