Shloka 5
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 45: Saubhadra–Lakṣmaṇa-saṃyoga and Kaurava Counter-Encirclement
अहं पूर्वमहं पूर्वमिति क्षत्रियपुड़वा: । स्पर्धमाना: समाजम्मुर्जिघांसन्तो<र्जुनात्मजम्,वे सभी क्षत्रियशिरोमणि “पहले मैं, पहले मैं” इस प्रकार परस्पर होड़ लगाते हुए अर्जुनकुमारको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे आगे बढ़े
ahaṁ pūrvam ahaṁ pūrvam iti kṣatriya-puṅgavāḥ | spardhamānāḥ samājaṁ mumur jighāṁsanto 'rjunātmajam ||
Sanjaya said: Crying, “I first! I first!”, those foremost of kṣatriyas, competing with one another, surged forward in a crowd, intent on killing Arjuna’s son. The verse highlights how rivalry and the hunger for personal glory can eclipse restraint and right conduct even among the noble-born in the frenzy of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how ego-driven competition (“I first”) can overpower discernment and dharma, turning warfare into a contest for personal credit rather than a restrained, principled engagement.
A group of leading warriors, spurred by rivalry, rush together as a crowd with the shared aim of killing Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu, as Sanjaya reports the battlefield events.