Shloka 15
ततो दुर्योधनो राजा सहित: सर्वसोदरै: । अश्वातकैर्विकर्णक्ष॒ तथा चाम्बछकोसलै:,शकुनिने अपनी सेना साथ लेकर द्रोणाचार्यकी रक्षामें योग दिया। तत्पश्चात् अपने भाइयोंसहित राजा दुर्योधन अत्यन्त हर्षमें भरकर अश्वातक, विकर्ण, अम्बष्ठ, कोसल, दरद, शक, क्षुद्रक तथा मालव आदि देशोंके योद्धाओंके साथ सुबलपुत्र शकुनिकी सेनाका संरक्षण करने लगा
tato duryodhano rājā sahitaḥ sarvasodaraiḥ | aśvātakaiḥ vikarṇaś ca tathā cāmbaṣṭha-kosalaiḥ śakunine (sabalaputrāya) senā-sahitaḥ droṇācārya-rakṣaṇe yogaṃ dadau |
त्यानंतर राजा दुर्योधन सर्व भावांसह, अश्वातक, विकर्ण तसेच अम्बष्ठ व कोसल देशांच्या योद्ध्यांसह (सेनाव्यूहात) पुढे सरसावला.
(संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, leaders prioritize the protection of key commanders and allies; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between loyalty to one’s faction and the broader demands of dharma—showing how strategic cohesion can persist even when moral clarity is strained.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, with his brothers and allied regional contingents, commits his forces to guarding Droṇācārya and then to protecting Śakuni’s army—indicating a deliberate consolidation of defensive support around crucial Kaurava leaders.