Shloka 50
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 132 — Duryodhana’s Instructions to Purocana at Vāraṇāvata
Lākṣāgṛha Planning
वैशम्पायन उवाच मुहूर्तमिव त॑ द्रोणश्चिन्तयित्वा विनिश्वयम् सव्यसाचिनमादाय नैषादिं प्रति जग्मिवान्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: muhūrtam iva taṃ Droṇaś cintayitvā viniścayam, savyasācinam ādāya Naiṣādiṃ prati jagmivān.
वैशम्पायन बोले—जनमेजय! द्रोणाचार्य उस निषादपुत्र के विषय में मानो कुछ क्षण विचार करते रहे; फिर निश्चय करके सव्यसाची अर्जुन को साथ ले, उस नैषाद युवक के पास चले गए।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of deliberate choice: Droṇa pauses to reflect and then acts on a resolve that will affect fairness in education and the balance between a teacher’s obligations, loyalty to a favored disciple, and the broader demands of dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Droṇa thinks for a short while, reaches a decision, and then goes—taking Arjuna with him—toward the Naiṣāda youth (Ekalavya), setting up the ensuing confrontation central to the Ekalavya episode.