Shloka 20

Devanagari script

सात्यकिर्भीमसेनश्व धृष्टय्युम्नश्व॒ पार्षत:

Transliteration

sātyakir bhīmasenaś ca dhr̥ṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ | atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṁ sahitāḥ sarvasr̥ñjayāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Sātyaki, Bhīmasena und Dhṛṣṭadyumna, der Sohn des Pārṣata, griffen zusammen mit allen Sṛñjayas in geschlossener Formation Bhīṣma im dichtesten Kampfgetümmel an und trafen ihn von allen Seiten.

Word by Word

• {'sātyakiḥ': 'Sātyaki (Yādava warrior, ally of the Pāṇḍavas)', 'bhīmasenaḥ': 'Bhīmasena (Bhīma, second Pāṇḍava)', 'dhr̥ṣṭadyumnaḥ': 'Dhr̥ṣṭadyumna (commander of the Pāṇḍava army)', 'pārṣataḥ': 'son of Pārṣata/Pr̥ṣata (patronymic of Dhr̥ṣṭadyumna)', 'raṇe': 'in battle, in the battlefield', 'bhīṣmam': 'Bhīṣma (the grandsire, commander of the Kaurava host)', 'sahitāḥ': 'together, united, in concert', 'sarva-sr̥ñjayāḥ': 'all the Sṛñjayas (a confederate group aligned with the Pāṇḍavas)', 'atāḍayan': 'they struck, they beat, they attacked'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• Dhr̥ṣṭadyumna
• Pārṣata (Pr̥ṣata)
• Bhīṣma
• Sṛñjayas
• battlefield (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharma-yuddha principle: when a single mighty warrior sustains an adharma-aligned force, opposing him becomes a collective duty. Reverence for age and greatness does not override the battlefield obligation to restrain harm and protect the just cause.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Sātyaki, Bhīma, and Dhr̥ṣṭadyumna—along with the Sṛñjaya fighters—coordinate their assault on Bhīṣma, striking him repeatedly in the midst of combat.