Shloka 66
जीवन्तमानयाचार्य मा वधीर्द्रपदात्मज । न हन्तव्यो न हन्तव्य इति ते सैनिकाश्न ह,यद्यपि उस समय महाबाहु कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनने बहुत कहा--'ओ द्रुपदकुमार! तुम आचार्यको जीते-जी ले आओ। उनका वध न करना।” आपके सैनिक भी बारंबार कहते ही रह गये कि “न मारो, न मारो”
sañjaya uvāca |
jīvantam ānaya ācārya mā vadhīr drapadātmaja |
na hantavyo na hantavya iti te sainikāś ca ha ||
Sanjaya said: “Bring the Teacher (Drona) alive; do not kill him, O son of Drupada (Dhrishtadyumna). He must not be slain.” Thus Arjuna, the mighty-armed son of Kunti, repeatedly urged; and your soldiers too kept crying again and again, “Do not kill! Do not kill!” The passage underscores the ethical restraint sought even amid battle: the capture of a revered preceptor is demanded, not his death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a life-and-death battlefield, dharma can demand restraint: a revered teacher like Drona is to be subdued and captured rather than killed, reflecting the tension between military necessity and moral obligation toward a guru.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna repeatedly instructs Dhrishtadyumna to bring Drona alive and not to slay him; the surrounding soldiers echo the same plea, shouting ‘Do not kill, do not kill,’ emphasizing the urgency of sparing Drona’s life.