Shloka 26
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय 128: दुर्योधनस्य परसेनाप्रवेशः
Duryodhana’s Incursion and the Tumult of Battle
ततः प्रतिकृतं मन्ये विधान सात्यकिं प्रति । एवं निश्चित्य मनसा धर्मपुत्रो युधिषछ्िर:
tataḥ pratikṛtaṃ manye vidhānaṃ sātyakiṃ prati | evaṃ niścitya manasā dharmaputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Then, I think, a fitting counter-measure was devised against Sātyaki. Having thus resolved in his mind, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira (took his decision), guided by a sense of what was right amid the pressures of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, action is preceded by inner determination: the verse highlights deliberate decision-making (niścaya) and the tension between strategic necessity and dharmic responsibility, embodied by Yudhiṣṭhira as “Dharmaputra.”
Sañjaya reports that a counter-plan is formed specifically in response to Sātyaki’s actions, and that Yudhiṣṭhira, after reflecting, reaches a firm decision about the next course of action.