Shloka 473
एतौ रणे समासाद्य समाश्चस्त: सुयोधन: । “पुरुषोत्तम! ये कर्ण और द्रोण ही हमारे दुःखोंके मूल कारण हैं। रणभूमिमें इन्हींका सहारा लेकर दुर्योधनका ढाढ़स बँँधा हुआ है
etau raṇe samāsādya samāścāstaḥ suyodhanaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Having encountered these two in battle, Suyodhana (Duryodhana) stood firm. He reflects that Karṇa and Droṇa are the very roots of their suffering; yet it is by leaning on them in the battlefield that Duryodhana’s courage is sustained—revealing the tragic dependence on formidable allies whose choices and loyalties have helped drive the war’s moral collapse.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a moral irony: reliance on powerful allies can sustain confidence in war, yet those very alliances—when rooted in adharma, pride, or compromised loyalties—become the source of deeper suffering. Strength without ethical clarity can prolong conflict rather than resolve it.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, after coming face to face with two key figures in the fighting, remains steady. The accompanying sense is that Duryodhana’s courage is anchored in Karṇa and Droṇa, even while acknowledging that their roles and decisions have contributed to the Kauravas’ misery and the escalation of the war.