Shloka 38
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 132 — Duryodhana’s Instructions to Purocana at Vāraṇāvata
Lākṣāgṛha Planning
तेषां विचरतां तत्र तत्तत्कर्मचिकीर्षया । ध्वा चरन् स वने मूढो नैषादिं प्रति जग्मिवान्,वे सब अपना-अपना काम पूरा करनेकी इच्छासे वनमें इधर-उधर विचर रहे थे। उनका वह मूढ़ कुत्ता वनमें घूमता-घामता निषादपुत्र एकलव्यके पास जा पहुँचा
teṣāṃ vicaratāṃ tatra tattat-karmacikīrṣayā | śvā caran sa vane mūḍho naiṣādaṃ prati jagmivān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: While they were roaming about there in the forest, each intent on accomplishing his own task, their foolish dog, wandering through the woods, went toward the Niṣāda youth Ekalavya. The episode quietly frames how chance encounters, driven by individual aims and heedless movement, can set in motion consequences that test discipline, duty, and the ethics of instruction.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Seemingly minor, unreflective actions—like a dog wandering off—can trigger events that expose deeper ethical questions about discipline, responsibility, and the boundaries of rightful instruction and social inclusion.
As the group moves about the forest pursuing their own purposes, their dog strays and ends up reaching the Niṣāda youth Ekalavya, setting up the encounter that leads into the well-known Ekalavya–Droṇa episode.