Shloka 32
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
आर्जुनिं श्रुतकीर्ति तु द्रौपदेयं महारथम् । द्रोणायाभिमुखं यान्तं दौःशासनिरवारयत्
ārjuniṁ śrutakīrtiṁ tu draupadeyaṁ mahāratham | droṇāyābhimukhaṁ yāntaṁ dauḥśāsanir avārayat ||
Sañjaya said: Drauṇi’s son Śrutakīrti, the Draupadeya and a great chariot-warrior, was advancing straight toward Droṇa. At that moment, Duḥśāsana’s son intercepted and checked his advance. In the moral texture of the war, this is the familiar pattern of protection and obstruction: warriors place themselves between a threatened commander and an approaching attacker, turning personal valor into a tactical duty within the larger, tragic unraveling of dharma on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of duty and protection: warriors interpose themselves to defend a leader and to prevent an opponent’s direct assault. It also reflects how dharma in war often appears as competing obligations—valor and loyalty expressed through obstruction and counter-obstruction.
Śrutakīrti, identified as a Draupadeya and a great chariot-warrior, advances directly toward Droṇa. Duḥśāsana’s son confronts him and stops his forward movement, preventing him from reaching Droṇa.