Shloka 30
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ७२: सैन्यगुणवर्णनम्, व्यूहरक्षा, दैव-पुरुषकारचिन्ता
ततो द्रोणो महाराज अभ्यद्रवत तं रणे । रक्षमाणस्तदा भीष्मं तव पुत्रेण चोदित:,महाराज! यह देखकर द्रोणाचार्य युद्धमें आपके पुत्रके कहनेसे भीष्मकी रक्षाके लिये शिखण्डीकी ओर दौड़े
tato droṇo mahārāja abhyadravat taṃ raṇe | rakṣamāṇas tadā bhīṣmaṃ tava putreṇa coditaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Droṇa, O King, charged toward him in the battle—urged on by your son—seeking at that moment to protect Bhīṣma. The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of guarding a revered commander and the pull of loyalty to one’s prince, even amid the moral strain of a war where personal duty and righteousness are under constant test.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between personal loyalty and ethical discernment in war: Droṇa acts from duty to protect a venerable leader (Bhīṣma) and from obedience to the prince’s command, illustrating how battlefield dharma often operates through roles—protector, commander, subordinate—rather than abstract ideals alone.
As Bhīṣma is being pressed by the opposing side (with Śikhaṇḍin as a key threat), Droṇa rushes forward in the fight to confront that attacker, prompted by Duryodhana, with the immediate aim of shielding Bhīṣma.