Shloka 10
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
एवमेष कृतो भागो नवधा पृथिवीपते । न च भागोजत्र भीष्मस्य द्रोणस्य च महात्मन:
evameṣa kṛto bhāgo navadhā pṛthivīpate | na ca bhāgo 'tra bhīṣmasya droṇasya ca mahātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Thus, O lord of the earth, this division has been made into nine parts. Yet in this allotment there is no share assigned here to Bhīṣma, nor to the great-souled Droṇa.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between formal distribution of honors/portions and the reality that even the most venerable elders (Bhīṣma and Droṇa) may be excluded by circumstance—inviting reflection on how war and political calculation can override gratitude and due recognition.
Sañjaya reports to the king that a certain allotment has been arranged in nine parts, but within that arrangement no portion is assigned to Bhīṣma and Droṇa—implying a reorganization after their absence from the battlefield and the shifting priorities of the Kaurava war-council.