Shloka 1
[दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका इं श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ७२ ३ “लोक हैं।] शीस्स्लश्शा5सस हज * त्रिपज्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: धृष्टद्युम्न तथा द्रोणाचार्यका युद्ध धृतराष्ट उवाच कथं द्रोणो महेष्वास: पाञ्चाल्यश्लापि पार्षत: । उभौ समीयतुर्यत्ती तन््ममाचक्ष्व संजय,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! महाथनुर्थर द्रोणाचार्य तथा द्रुपदपुत्र धृष्टद्युम्न--ये दोनों वीर किस प्रकार प्रयत्नपूर्वक आपसमें युद्ध कर रहे थे, वह सब वृत्तान्त मुझसे कहो
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kathaṃ droṇo maheṣvāsaḥ pāñcālyo 'pi pārṣataḥ | ubhau samīyatur yattī tan mamācakṣva sañjaya ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Tell me, Sañjaya—how did Droṇa, that mighty archer, and the Pāñcāla prince Dhṛṣṭadyumna, son of Pṛṣata, strive against one another when they came face to face in battle?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension of Kurukṣetra: even the greatest warriors are bound into conflict by duty, allegiance, and prior causes. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question highlights how personal relationships (teacher and adversary) are tested under kṣatriya-dharma, where disciplined effort and resolve operate within a larger moral and karmic framework.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to describe the direct combat between Droṇa, famed as a supreme archer, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince (son of Pṛṣata). The king seeks a detailed account of how the two met and fought with determined exertion.