Shloka 27
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa
तैर्वतः सर्वतः शूर: पाउ्चाल्यापसदस्तत:
tair vṛtaḥ sarvataḥ śūraḥ pāñcālyāpasadas tataḥ
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Then that hero was hemmed in on all sides by them—by the low and ignoble men among the Pāñcālas.” The line conveys both the tactical reality of encirclement in battle and the speaker’s moral-psychological bias, as he disparages the opposing force to frame their action as unworthy despite its effectiveness.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moral judgment and partisan emotion shape war-narration: an effective battlefield maneuver (encirclement) is rhetorically reframed as dishonorable by labeling the opponents as “apasada,” reminding readers to distinguish fact from biased evaluation.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reports that a certain hero on the battlefield becomes surrounded on all sides by the Pāñcālas; the wording suggests a tight encirclement and simultaneously conveys contempt toward the encircling force.