Shloka 26
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
द्रौपदेया रणे क्रुद्धा दुर्योधनमवारयन् । शरैराशीविषाकारै: पुत्र॑ं तव विशाम्पते
sañjaya uvāca | draupadeyā raṇe kruddhā duryodhanam avārayan | śarair āśīviṣākāraiḥ putraṁ tava viśāmpate prajānātha ||
Sañjaya sprach: In der Wut der Schlacht hielten die Söhne Draupadīs Duryodhana in seinem Vorrücken auf. Mit schrecklichen Pfeilen, geformt wie giftige Schlangen, hielten sie deinen Sohn zurück, o Herr der Völker — und zeigten, dass im Krieg selbst königlicher Ehrgeiz vor entschlossenem Widerstand und den Folgen des selbstgewählten Weges weichen muss.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of chosen actions in war: aggressive advance driven by ambition meets determined opposition, and the battlefield quickly turns intention into consequence. It also underscores the Kṣatriya ethos—courage and resistance—while implicitly reminding the listener (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) that the war he enabled brings peril even to his own son.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Draupadī’s five sons, enraged in the fight, block Duryodhana’s forward movement by showering him with terrifying arrows likened to venomous serpents.