Shloka 17
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय २७: सुशर्माह्वानम्, अर्जुनस्य प्रतिनिवर्तनम्, भगदत्तेन गजप्रहारः
स तु दोलायमानो< भूद द्वैधीभावेन पाण्डव: । वधेन तु नराग्रयाणामकरोत् तां मृषा तदा
sa tu dolāyamāno 'bhūd dvaidhībhāvena pāṇḍavaḥ | vadhena tu narāgrayāṇām akarot tāṃ mṛṣā tadā ||
स तु दोलायमानो भूत्त्वा द्वैधीभावेन पाण्डवः । वधेन तु नराग्र्याणामकरोत् तां मृषा तदा ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a person devoted to truth can be shaken by extreme circumstances; war creates ethical pressure where expediency tempts one toward untruth. The verse underscores the inner cost of compromising dharma, especially when the aim is to bring down powerful opponents.
Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍava (understood as Yudhiṣṭhira) wavering in a divided mental state and, at that moment, speaking a falsehood connected with the plan to cause the fall of leading warriors—part of the larger strategy unfolding in Droṇa Parva.