Shloka 22
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
अथान्यद् धनुरादाय सोमदत्तो महारथ: । सात्यकिं छादयामास शरवृष्टया महाबल:
athānyad dhanur ādāya somadatto mahārathaḥ | sātyakiṃ chādayāmāsa śaravṛṣṭyā mahābalaḥ ||
قال سانجيا: ثم إن سوماداتّا، ذلك المقاتل العظيم على العربة وذو البأس الشديد، تناول قوساً آخر وغطّى ساتياكي بوابلٍ من السهام.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness and tactical adaptability in battle—Somadatta switches to another bow and continues the fight. Ethically, it underscores how warfare tests resolve and restraint, as power is exercised through disciplined skill rather than mere rage.
Sañjaya reports that Somadatta takes up a different bow and unleashes a dense shower of arrows, effectively overwhelming and ‘covering’ Sātyaki with missile-fire, intensifying their duel on the battlefield.