Shloka 87

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

द्रोणे तु निहते वीरे रथव्याप्रे नरर्षभे । के वा मुखमनीकानामासन्‌ संजय भागश:,संजय! रथियोंमें सिंह नरश्रेष्ठ वीरवर द्रोणाचार्यके मारे जानेपर कौन-कौनसे वीर सेनाओंके मुख (अग्रभाग) की रक्षा करते रहे?

Transliteration

droṇe tu nihate vīre rathavyāpre nararṣabhe | ke vā mukham anīkānām āsan sañjaya bhāgaśaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Khi dũng tướng Droṇa—bậc nhất trong hàng chiến xa, như trâu mộng giữa loài người—đã bị giết, hỡi Sañjaya, trong từng đạo quân, những ai đã đứng nơi tiền tuyến và che chở mũi nhọn của trận thế?”

Word by Word

द्रोणेin/when (regarding) Droṇa

तुbut/indeed

निहतेwhen slain

वीरेin the hero (Droṇa)

रथव्याप्रेin the chariot-tiger (great chariot-warrior)

नरर्षभेin the bull among men (best of men)

केwho (which persons)

वाor/indeed

मुखम्front/face (vanguard)

अनीकानाम्of the armies/divisions

आसन्were

संजयO Sañjaya

भागशःseverally/part by part

संजयO Sañjaya

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sañjaya

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

anīka (army divisions/vyūha units)

mukha (vanguard/front line)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic and strategic concern: after the fall of a principal commander (Droṇa), the army’s moral and tactical stability depends on who assumes responsibility for protecting the front line. It underscores leadership as a duty in moments of collective peril.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating to Janamejaya, poses (to Sañjaya within the recounted dialogue) a question about the Kaurava forces: once Droṇa has been killed, which warriors, division by division, took position at the army’s forefront to guard and lead the battle-array.