Shloka 263
द्रोणवध-प्रश्नः
Droṇa’s Fall: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry
काश्यस्याभिभुव: पुत्र सुकुमारं महारथम् । क्रौंचवर्णक< उत्तम घोड़ोंने काशिराज अभिभूके सुकुमार एवं युवा पुत्रको, जो महारथी वीर था, युद्धभूमिमें पहुँचाया
kāśyasyābhibhuvaḥ putraḥ sukumāraṃ mahāratham | krauñcavarṇakair uttamaiḥ aśvaiḥ kāśirājaḥ abhibhūḥ sukumāraṃ yuvānaṃ putraṃ yo mahārathī vīraḥ saṃgrāmabhūmiṃ prāpayat |
Sañjaya said: King Abhibhū of Kāśi, using excellent horses of crane-like (pale) color, brought to the battlefield his son Sukumāra—young, delicate in years yet a mighty chariot-warrior—thus sending him into the moral crucible of war where lineage, duty, and courage are tested amid destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between youth and the demands of kṣatriya-dharma: even a young son is propelled into war by royal duty and circumstance, showing how status and lineage can compel participation in ethically fraught conflict.
Sañjaya reports that Abhibhū, the king of Kāśi, arrives at the battlefield and brings/sends his son Sukumāra—described as young yet a mahāratha—using excellent crane-colored horses, indicating their entry into active combat.