Shloka 36
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 132 — Duryodhana’s Instructions to Purocana at Vāraṇāvata
Lākṣāgṛha Planning
अथ द्रोणाभ्यनुज्ञाता: कदाचित् कुरुपाण्डवा: | रथैरविनिर्ययु: सर्वे मृगयामरिमर्दन,शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले जनमेजय! तदनन्तर एक दिन समस्त कौरव और पाण्डव आचार्य द्रोणकी अनुमतिसे रथोंपर बैठकर (हिंसक पशुओंका) शिकार खेलनेके लिये निकले
atha droṇābhyanujñātāḥ kadācit kurupāṇḍavāḥ | rathair aviniryyayuḥ sarve mṛgayām arimardana ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Once, with Droṇa’s permission, all the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas set out together in their chariots for a hunt. The episode frames royal sport as an activity undertaken under a teacher’s sanction and within the kṣatriya milieu, while also hinting at the ethical tension of violence for recreation that later narratives often problematize through consequences and restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights action undertaken under legitimate guidance (Droṇa’s permission) and situates hunting within kṣatriya culture, while implicitly raising the ethical question of sanctioned violence versus needless harm—an issue the epic often explores through later outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that, on one occasion, the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas together mounted their chariots and went out for a hunt, with their teacher Droṇa’s approval, addressing King Janamejaya as “crusher of foes.”