Shloka 2
संजय उवाच तस्मिन्नतिरथे द्रोणे निहते पार्षतेन वै कौरवेषु च भग्नेषु कुन्तीपुत्रो धनंजय:,संजयने कहा--भरतश्रेष्ठ! धृष्टद्युम्नद्वारा अतिरथी वीर द्रोणाचार्यके मारे जानेपर जब समस्त कौरव भाग खड़े हुए, उस समय अपनेको विजय दिलानेवाली एक अत्यन्त आश्चर्यमयी घटना देखकर दुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुनने अकस्मात् वहाँ आये हुए वेदव्यासजीसे उसके सम्बन्धमें इस प्रकार पूछा
sañjaya uvāca | tasminn atirathe droṇe nihate pārṣatena vai kauraveṣu ca bhagneṣu kuntīputro dhanañjayaḥ |
Sañjaya said: When Droṇa—counted among the foremost chariot-warriors—had been slain by the son of Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna), and the Kaurava forces had broken and fled, Kuntī’s son Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), witnessing a victory-bringing yet astonishing turn of events, approached the suddenly arrived sage Vyāsa and questioned him about it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a decisive battlefield reversal as more than mere tactics: the fall of a great teacher-warrior and the rout of an army raise ethical and dharmic questions about means and consequences in war, prompting Arjuna to seek higher insight (through Vyāsa) rather than relying only on martial judgment.
After Dhṛṣṭadyumna kills Droṇa, the Kaurava forces collapse and flee. Arjuna, seeing an extraordinary, victory-linked development and the sudden presence of Vyāsa, turns to the sage to ask what it signifies and how it should be understood.