Shloka 19
Somadatta–Sātyaki Engagement; Bhīma’s Interventions; Droṇa–Yudhiṣṭhira Astra Exchange
Book 7, Chapter 132
यत्र ते बहवस्तात कौरवेया व्यवस्थिता:,तात! (असली जूआ तो वहाँ हो रहा है) जहाँ तुम्हारे बहुत-से कौरवयोद्धा खड़े हैं। इस सेनाको ही तुम जुआरी समझो। प्रजानाथ! बाणोंको ही पासे मान लो। राजन! सिंधुराज जयद्रथको ही बाजी या दाँव समझो। उसीपर जूएकी हार-जीतका फैसला होगा
yatra te bahavas tāta kauraveyā vyavasthitāḥ | tāta, asali jūā to vahāṁ ho rahā hai—jahāṁ tumhāre bahut-se kaurava-yoddhā khaṛe haiṁ | is senā ko hī tum juārī samjho | prajānātha, bāṇoṁ ko hī pāse mān lo | rājan, sindhurāja jayadratha ko hī bājī yā dāṁva samjho | usī par jūe kī hār-jīt kā faislā hogā ||
द्रोण उवाच—तात, यत्र ते बहवः कौरवेया व्यवस्थिताः, तत्रैव सत्यमिदं द्यूतम्। एतां सेनां द्यूतकारान् मन्यस्व; शरान् अक्षान् परिगृहाण। विशाम्पते, सैन्धवं जयद्रथं ग्लहं मन्यस्व; तस्मिन्नेवास्य द्यूतस्य जयपराजयनिश्चयः।
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle as a high-stakes gamble: warriors risk everything, weapons become the instruments of chance, and a single pivotal figure (Jayadratha) becomes the ‘stake’ on which the outcome turns. Ethically, it highlights how war can reduce human lives and decisions to wagers—warning of the moral peril of treating violence as a game of gain and loss.
Droṇa addresses a king/leader and points to the Kaurava battle formation, using the imagery of gambling. He identifies the army as gamblers, arrows as dice, and Jayadratha—king of Sindhu—as the decisive stake, implying that the immediate contest and its turning point will center on Jayadratha.