Shloka 37

Saubhadra under Concentrated Assault; Pārṣata’s Intervention and Escalation

Devanagari script

ततो दुर्योधनो राजन्‌ भानुमन्तमचोदयत्‌ । सैन्येन महता युक्त भारद्वाजस्य रक्षणे,महाराज! तब दुर्योधनने विशाल सेनासे युक्त भानुमानको द्रोणाचार्यकी रक्षाके कार्यमें नियुक्त किया

Transliteration

tato duryodhano rājan bhānumantam acodayat | sainyena mahatā yukta bhāradvājasya rakṣaṇe ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：于是，大王啊，难敌催促婆奴曼——并以大军相随——承担守护“婆罗堕阇”之责，即护卫德罗那。在战火逼迫之际，保全主将遂成决定性的要务，既关乎谋略，也关乎道义的重负。

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

राजन्O king

भानुमन्तम्Bhānumant (proper name)

अचोदयत्urged, prompted, appointed

सैन्येनwith an army

महतāgreat, large

युक्तःjoined, equipped, accompanied

भारद्वाजस्यof Bhāradvāja (i.e., Droṇa)

रक्षणेin (the act of) guarding; for protection-duty

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhānumān

Droṇa (Bhāradvāja)

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 wartime ethical-strategic principle: safeguarding a key leader (here, Droṇa) is treated as crucial to the army’s stability and success, showing how duty and strategy intertwine under the pressures of dharma-yuddha.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana assigns Bhānumān, backed by a large force, to protect Droṇa (called ‘Bhāradvāja’), indicating a deliberate protective formation around the commander.