Shloka 49
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
तत्पश्चात् प्रतापी द्रोणपुत्रने होशमें आकर कुपित हो समरभूमिमें सात्यकिको नाराचसे घायल कर दिया ।।
śaineyaṃ sa tu nirbhidya prāviśad dharaṇītalam | vasantakāle balavān bilaṃ sarpaśiśur yathā ||
Sañjaya said: After that, the mighty son of Droṇa, having come fully to himself, and angered on the battlefield, wounded Sātyaki (Śaineya) with a nārāca arrow. That arrow pierced Śaineya and sank into the earth, just as in spring a strong young serpent slips into its burrow. The image underscores war’s relentless, impersonal momentum: a single wrath-driven act of skill wounds a warrior and vanishes, leaving consequences behind.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial prowess, when driven by anger, produces swift harm and then ‘disappears’ like an arrow sinking into the earth—yet the moral weight remains. It invites reflection on restraint (dama) and responsibility in the exercise of power, even within kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya describes an arrow that has pierced Śaineya (Sātyaki) and then plunged into the ground. The poet reinforces the action with a simile: like a strong young serpent entering its burrow in spring.