Mahabharata (Gita Press) 7.21.2 - Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 2
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर युधिष्ठिरने द्रोणको अपने समीप आया देख एक निर्भय वीरकी भाँति बाणोंकी बड़ी भारी वर्षा करके उन्हें रोक दिया ।।
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! tadanantaraṃ yudhiṣṭhiro droṇam ātmānam upasaṃkrāntam upalakṣya nirbhaya-vīra iva śarāṇāṃ mahāvarṣaṃ kṛtvā taṃ nyavārayat. tato halahalāśabda āsīd yudhiṣṭhire bale, jighṛkṣati mahāsiṃhe gajānām iva yūthapam.
સંજય બોલ્યા—રાજન! ત્યારબાદ યુધિષ્ઠિરે દ્રોણને નજીક આવતાં જોઈ, નિર્ભય વીરની જેમ મહાન બાણવર્ષા કરીને તેમને અટકાવી દીધા. ત્યારે યુધિષ્ઠિરની સેનામાં ભારે કોલાહલ મચી ગયો. જેમ મહાસિંહ હાથીઓના ઝુંડના નેતાને પકડવા ઇચ્છે, તેમ દ્રોણાચાર્ય યુધિષ્ઠિરને વશમાં કરવા ઇચ્છતા હતા.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: even a dharma-minded king like Yudhiṣṭhira must act decisively to protect himself and his army. It also underscores the ethical weight of leadership—capturing the commander (or king) can decide a battle, so both defense and offense focus on the leader’s responsibility and vulnerability.
Droṇa advances with the intent to seize Yudhiṣṭhira. Yudhiṣṭhira responds by releasing a heavy volley of arrows and halting Droṇa’s approach. The Pāṇḍava army erupts in loud commotion, and the text compares Droṇa’s intent to a lion trying to catch the chief of an elephant herd.
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