तस्मिन् प्रविष्टे पृतनां शिनीनां प्रवरे रथे ॥
भोजानीकं व्यतिक्रान्ते कथम् आसन् हि कौरवाः ॥
तथा द्रोणेन समरे निगृहीतेषु पाण्डुषु ॥
कथं युद्धम् अभूत् तत्र तन् ममाचक्ष्व संजय ॥
द्रोणो हि बलवाञ् शूरः कृतास्त्रो दृढविक्रमः ॥
पाञ्चालास् तं महेष्वासं प्रत्ययुध्यन् कथं रणे ॥
बद्धवैरास् तथा द्रोणे धर्मराजजयैषिणः ॥
भारद्वाजस् तथा तेषु कृतवैरो महारथः ॥
अर्जुनश् चापि यच् चक्रे सिन्धुराजवधं प्रति ॥
तन् मे सर्वं समाचक्ष्व कुशलो ह्य् असि संजय ॥
tasmin praviṣṭe pṛtanāṃ śinīnāṃ pravare rathe ||
bhojānīkaṃ vyatikrānte katham āsan hi kauravāḥ ||
tathā droṇena samare nigṛhīteṣu pāṇḍuṣu ||
kathaṃ yuddham abhūt tatra tan mamācakṣva saṃjaya ||
droṇo hi balavāñ śūraḥ kṛtāstro dṛḍhavikramaḥ ||
pāñcālās taṃ maheṣvāsaṃ pratyayudhyan kathaṃ raṇe ||
baddhavairās tathā droṇe dharmarājajayaiṣiṇaḥ ||
bhāradvājas tathā teṣu kṛtavairo mahārathaḥ ||
arjunaś cāpi yac cakre sindhurājavadhaṃ prati ||
tan me sarvaṃ samācakṣva kuśalo hy asi saṃjaya ||
"When that foremost warrior of the line of Shini entered the army and passed through the array of the Bhojas, how then were the Kauravas? Likewise, when the Pandus were held in check by Drona in battle, what was the fighting there? Tell me that, Sanjaya. For Drona is mighty, a hero, skilled in weapons, of firm valor -- how did the Panchalas fight in battle against that great archer, bound in enmity with Drona and desiring victory for the King of Righteousness, while the son of Bharadvaja, the great warrior, held the same enmity toward them? And also what Arjuna did toward the slaying of the king of Sindhu -- tell me all of that, for you are skilled, Sanjaya."
72a2456b39b0 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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The lament ends in a chain of questions: the king longs to know everything, unable to turn his gaze from the calamity closing in. It is telling that he asks both about Drona, rival of the Panchalas, and about Arjuna's vow -- the very knots in which the resolution will be tied. The verse teaches that even in grief a person reaches to know the truth to its end; the thirst for tidings, however bitter, is natural to the heart -- and this very thirst draws the listener into the heart of what is unfolding, face to face with the inevitable.