Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya
Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance
ततो युधिष्ठटिरो राजा कुपितो राजसत्तम
tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā kupito rājasattama
ਤਦੋਂ ਰਾਜਾ ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ ਕ੍ਰੋਧਿਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ, ਹੇ ਰਾਜਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ, ਬੋਲਿਆ।
संजय उवाच
Even a ruler committed to dharma can be provoked into anger in the crucible of war; the epic highlights how ethical leadership is tested when grief, urgency, and battlefield pressures intensify.
Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira becomes angry and begins to address a figure called 'rājasattama' (“best of kings”), marking a transition into a charged exchange within the Drona Parva war narrative.