Shloka 49
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
यस्य कोपान्महात्मानौ भीष्मद्रोणौ निपातितौ । युधिष्ठिर इस संसारमें अनन्त ऐश्वर्यके भागी हुए हैं। जिनके कोपसे महात्मा भीष्म और द्रोण मार गिराये गये ।। प्राप्त: प्रकृतितो धर्मो न धर्मो मामकान् प्रति
yasya kopān mahātmānau bhīṣma-droṇau nipātitau | yudhiṣṭhiraḥ iha saṃsāre ananta-aiśvarya-bhāgī bhavati | prāptaḥ prakṛtito dharmo na dharmo māmakān prati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: By whose wrath the great-souled Bhīṣma and Droṇa were brought down, that very Yudhiṣṭhira becomes a sharer of unending sovereignty in this world. Yet the dharma that arises naturally and is truly obtained is not found in relation to my own (kinsmen); in the heat of this war, righteousness does not stand on the side of partiality.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes worldly success with moral clarity: even when victory and sovereignty accrue, true dharma is not determined by attachment to “one’s own side.” Righteousness must be assessed beyond partiality, especially amid the moral strain of war.
Vaiśampāyana reflects on the consequences of the conflict: the fall of the great warriors Bhīṣma and Droṇa is linked to a decisive force (described as ‘wrath’), and Yudhiṣṭhira’s ensuing rise to vast sovereignty is noted, while also questioning whether dharma truly supports the speaker’s own party.