Shloka 19
Somadatta–Sātyaki Engagement; Bhīma’s Interventions; Droṇa–Yudhiṣṭhira Astra Exchange
Book 7, Chapter 132
यत्र ते बहवस्तात कौरवेया व्यवस्थिता:,तात! (असली जूआ तो वहाँ हो रहा है) जहाँ तुम्हारे बहुत-से कौरवयोद्धा खड़े हैं। इस सेनाको ही तुम जुआरी समझो। प्रजानाथ! बाणोंको ही पासे मान लो। राजन! सिंधुराज जयद्रथको ही बाजी या दाँव समझो। उसीपर जूएकी हार-जीतका फैसला होगा
yatra te bahavas tāta kauraveyā vyavasthitāḥ | tāta, asali jūā to vahāṁ ho rahā hai—jahāṁ tumhāre bahut-se kaurava-yoddhā khaṛe haiṁ | is senā ko hī tum juārī samjho | prajānātha, bāṇoṁ ko hī pāse mān lo | rājan, sindhurāja jayadratha ko hī bājī yā dāṁva samjho | usī par jūe kī hār-jīt kā faislā hogā ||
Droṇa said: “Dear one, the true gambling is taking place there—where your many Kaurava warriors stand arrayed. Think of this army itself as the gamblers; take the arrows as the dice. O lord of men, regard Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, as the stake or wager. Upon him the victory or defeat of this ‘game’ will be decided.”
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle as a high-stakes gamble: warriors risk everything, weapons become the instruments of chance, and a single pivotal figure (Jayadratha) becomes the ‘stake’ on which the outcome turns. Ethically, it highlights how war can reduce human lives and decisions to wagers—warning of the moral peril of treating violence as a game of gain and loss.
Droṇa addresses a king/leader and points to the Kaurava battle formation, using the imagery of gambling. He identifies the army as gamblers, arrows as dice, and Jayadratha—king of Sindhu—as the decisive stake, implying that the immediate contest and its turning point will center on Jayadratha.