Shloka 126
उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations
ससैन्यास्ते न्यवर्तन्त द्रोणमेव महाद्युतिम् महाधनुर्धर द्रौपदीकुमार तथा राक्षस घटोत्कच भी अपनी सेनाओंके साथ महातेजस्वी द्रोणाचार्यकी ही ओर लौट आये
sa-sainyās te nyavartanta droṇam eva mahā-dyutim | mahā-dhanuḥ-dharaḥ draupadī-kumāraḥ tathā rākṣasaḥ ghaṭotkacaḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「そのとき彼らは、それぞれの軍勢を伴い—ドラウパディーの子である大弓の名手と、羅刹ガトートカチャも—引き返し、再びただ一人ドローナ・アーチャールヤへと進み寄った。強大にして光輝ある総帥を、あえて主標的としたのである。この場面は、敵軍の柱たる者に対峙するための意図的な再進撃を示し、勇気と策が、戦の重い道義的負担のもとで交差する。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, decisive action often means confronting the central source of an enemy’s strength. Ethically, it points to the heavy responsibility of choosing targets and tactics: courage and strategy are inseparable from the moral burden of violence, especially when the opponent is a revered teacher and commander like Droṇa.
Sañjaya reports that the warriors—specifically Draupadī’s son (a great archer) and the rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca—along with their troops, turn back and move again toward Droṇa, focusing their effort on him as the key figure on the battlefield.