Mahabharata 7.116.1 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 1
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका १ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६८ श्लोक हैं) ऑपन-माज बछ। जज: चतुर्दशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्रका विषादयुक्त वचन
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | evaṁ bahuguṇaṁ sainyam evaṁ pravicitaṁ balam | vyūḍham evaṁ yathānyāyam evaṁ bahu ca sañjaya ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “Sañjaya, meu exército está assim dotado de muitas vantagens, e sua força foi reunida em número imenso. É mais poderoso do que a hoste dos Pāṇḍavas. Também sua formação de batalha está sendo composta de acordo com as regras da arte da guerra; e, desse modo, uma vasta companhia de guerreiros foi reunida.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how confidence in numbers, organization, and formal correctness can foster complacency and moral blindness. Dhṛtarāṣṭra measures success by external power—troop strength and proper formations—while the epic repeatedly suggests that adharma and partiality undermine even the best-equipped force. It implicitly points to the ethical responsibility of a ruler: strategic competence cannot substitute for righteous judgment.
At the opening of this section in Droṇa Parvan, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya, taking stock of the Kaurava military situation. He asserts that his forces are numerous, well-equipped, and arranged according to proper battle procedure, and that they surpass the Pāṇḍavas’ army. The statement sets the tone for his anxious yet self-justifying outlook as Sañjaya continues reporting the unfolding combat.
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