Shloka 2
Droṇa’s Resolve to Restrain Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna’s Protective Vow (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरनिग्रह-प्रयत्नः)
सेनापतित्व॑ सम्प्राप्प भारद्वाजो महारथ: । मध्ये सर्वस्य सैन्यस्य पुत्र ते वाक्यमब्रवीत्,सेनापतिका पद प्राप्त करके महारथी द्रोणाचार्यने सारी सेनाके बीचमें आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनसे इस प्रकार कहा--
saenāpatitvaṁ samprāpya bhāradvājo mahārathaḥ | madhye sarvasya sainyasya putra te vākyam abravīt |
Sañjaya said: Having attained the command of the army, the great chariot-warrior Droṇa, son of Bharadvāja, spoke these words to your son Duryodhana in the midst of the entire host. The moment marks a shift of responsibility: with Droṇa invested as commander, counsel and strategy are publicly declared before the assembled forces, binding leadership to the moral weight of the war’s outcomes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of command: when a leader assumes authority (senāpatitva), his words and decisions become publicly consequential, shaping collective action and accountability in war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa has been appointed commander-in-chief and, standing amid the assembled Kaurava forces, addresses Duryodhana with a formal statement of counsel/strategy.