Shloka 16
आचार्य ये च ते5रक्षन् दुर्योधनपुरोगमा: । द्रौणिकर्णकृपास्तात ते वाकुर्वन् किमाहवे,तात! अभश्वत्थामा, कर्ण, कृपाचार्य तथा दुर्योधन आदि जो महारथी रणभूमिमें आचार्य द्रोणकी रक्षा करते थे, उन्होंने वहाँ क्या किया?
ācārya ye ca te 'rakṣan duryodhana-purogamāḥ | drauṇi-karṇa-kṛpās tāta te vākurvan kim āhave, tāta ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O dear one, those warriors who protected the Teacher—led by Duryodhana, namely Aśvatthāmā, Karṇa, and Kṛpa—what did they do there in the battle? What response or action did they make on the field?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between loyalty to one’s leader/teacher and the larger demands of dharma in war. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question underscores how protective duty and allegiance shape battlefield conduct, especially when a revered preceptor is at the center of conflict.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report what the Kaurava champions—led by Duryodhana and including Aśvatthāmā, Karṇa, and Kṛpa—did on the battlefield while guarding Droṇa. It is a request for a detailed account of their actions and reactions in the ongoing combat.