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,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! आचार्य द्रोण उस निषादपुत्रके विषयमें दो घड़ीतक मानो कुछ सोचते-विचारते रहे; फिर कुछ निश्चय करके वे सव्यसाची अर्जुनको साथ ले उसके पास गये
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: muhūrtam iva taṃ Droṇaś cintayitvā viniścayam, savyasācinam ādāya Naiṣādiṃ prati jagmivān.
Vaiśampāyana said: Having reflected, as it were, for a brief while, Droṇa arrived at a firm decision. Taking with him Arjuna, famed as Savyasācin, he went toward the Naiṣāda youth. The moment underscores Droṇa’s deliberate, consequential choice—one that will shape the ethical tension between a teacher’s duty, impartiality, and the protection of his chosen disciple’s preeminence.
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.