Shloka 216
Droṇa’s Rebuke to Duryodhana after Jayadratha’s Fall (द्रोणेन दुर्योधनं प्रति प्रत्युक्तिः)
आर्या युद्धे मतिं कृत्वा युद्धायैवावतस्थिरे । राजन! इसी प्रकार आपके सैनिक भी महान् सुयश प्राप्त करना चाहते थे। अतः वे युद्धविषयक श्रेष्ठ बुद्धिका आश्रय ले वहाँ युद्धके लिये ही डँटे रहे
āryā yuddhe matiṁ kṛtvā yuddhāyaivāvatasthire | rājan! īsī prakāra āpake sainik bhī mahān suyāśa prāpta karanā cāhate the | ataḥ ve yuddhaviṣayak śreṣṭha buddhikā āśraya le vahāṁ yuddhake liye hī ḍaṁṭe rahe |
Sañjaya said: “Having resolved their minds for battle, those noble warriors stood firm, intent only on fighting. In the same way, O King, your soldiers too desired to win great renown; therefore, taking refuge in the best war-minded resolve, they remained stationed there solely for combat.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic of steadfast resolve: once the mind is set on battle, the fighters stand firm, motivated by duty and the pursuit of honorable renown—an ethical ideal within the kṣatriya framework, even amid the tragedy of war.
Sañjaya reports to the King that the warriors, having fixed their intention on fighting, held their ground. He adds that the King’s own troops likewise sought great fame and therefore remained positioned, committed to battle.