Shloka 40
रणे तस्मिन् सुमहति विजयाय सुतस्य ते । विसिस्मापयिषुलोंकानू् विद्यया ब्रह्मवित्तम:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! ऐसा कहकर वेदवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्यने अपनी विद्याके प्रभावसे सब लोगोंको आश्वर्यमें डालनेकी इच्छा रखते हुए तुरंत आचमन करके उस महायुद्धमें आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनकी विजयके लिये उसके शरीरमें विधिपूर्वक मन्त्रजपके साथ-साथ वह अत्यन्त तेजस्वी अद्भुत कवच बाँध दिया
raṇe tasmin sumahati vijayāya sutasya te | visismāpayiṣur lokān vidyayā brahmavittamaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, in that exceedingly great battle, desiring your son’s victory, and wishing by the power of his sacred knowledge to astonish all the people, Drona—foremost among the knowers of the Veda—performed ācamana at once and, with due rite and the recitation of mantras, bound upon Duryodhana’s body a wondrous, supremely radiant armor.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sacred knowledge and ritual power can be employed within war for protection and victory, raising an ethical tension: spiritual authority is not automatically aligned with impartial dharma, and can be used in partisan aims.
Sañjaya reports that Drona, after ritually purifying himself (ācamana) and reciting mantras, fastens a brilliant, extraordinary protective armor onto Duryodhana’s body to secure the Kaurava prince’s victory and to amaze onlookers with his mastery.