Shloka 49
श्र॒त्वैवं तु महाराज वधोपायं महात्मन: । गाहमानस्य ते सेनां मालवस्येन्द्रवर्मण:,वे दोनों इस प्रकार बातें कर ही रहे थे कि भीमसेन बोल उठे--“महाराज! महामना द्रोणके वधका ऐसा उपाय सुनकर मैंने आपकी सेनामें विचरनेवाले मालवनरेश इन्द्रवर्माके अश्वत्थामानामसे विख्यात गजराजको, जो ऐरावतके समान शक्तिशाली था, युद्धमें पराक्रम करके मार डाला। फिर द्रोणाचार्यके पास जाकर कहा--'ब्रह्मन्! अश्व॒त्थामा मारा गया, अब युद्धसे निवृत्त हो जाइये।” परंतु इन पुरुषप्रवर द्रोणने निश्चय ही मेरी बातपर विश्वास नहीं किया है
śrutvaivaṃ tu mahārāja vadhopāyaṃ mahātmanaḥ | gāhamānasya te senāṃ mālavasya indrvarmaṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, having heard this stratagem for the slaying of that great-souled one, Indravarman of Mālava—while moving about within your army—pressed into the fray.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames how a lethal stratagem is set in motion in war: tactical success may hinge on manipulation and confusion, raising a dharmic tension between victory and moral cost—especially when the target is a revered teacher like Droṇa.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after hearing the plan to bring about Droṇa’s death, Indravarman of Mālava moves about within the Kaurava host and enters the action—part of the unfolding sequence that will culminate in Droṇa being shaken through a deceptive report.