Shloka 31
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
कृतज्ञं ज्ञानसम्पन्नं कृतास्त्रमनिवर्तिनम् | युद्धाभिनन्दिनं नित्यं द्विषतां भयवर्धनम्
kṛtajñaṃ jñānasampannaṃ kṛtāstram anivartinam | yuddhābhinandinaṃ nityaṃ dviṣatāṃ bhayavardhanam
Sañjaya said: He was grateful and wise, fully trained in the use of weapons, and one who never turned back. Ever delighting in battle, he became a constant increaser of fear among his enemies—praised for steadfast courage and martial excellence, yet emblematic of how war exalts qualities that also intensify dread and destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises a warrior’s virtues—gratitude, wisdom, mastery of arms, and steadfastness—while implicitly showing the ethical tension of war: the same admired qualities in a kṣatriya can also magnify fear and suffering for others.
Sañjaya is characterizing a formidable fighter in the Drona Parva context, emphasizing his unwavering courage and skill in battle and the terror he inspires in opponents, as part of the ongoing war report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.