Shloka 31
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 109 — Karṇa–Bhīma Yuddha and Durmukha’s Fall (कर्णभीमयुद्धम्; दुर्मुखवधः)
सात्यकिं व्याप्रदत्तस्तु शरै: संनतपर्वभि: । चक्रे<दृश्यं साश्वसूतं सध्वजं पृतनान्तरे,व्याप्रदत्तने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा सेनाके मध्यभागमें घोड़ों, सारथि और ध्वजसहित सात्यकिको अदृश्य कर दिया
sātyakiṁ vyāpradattas tu śaraiḥ sannatapārva-bhiḥ | cakre 'dṛśyaṁ sāśvasūtaṁ sadhvajaṁ pṛtanāntare ||
Sañjaya said: Then, with arrows whose joints were bent down, he so overwhelmed Sātyaki in the midst of the army that Sātyaki—together with his horses, charioteer, and banner—was made as if invisible.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield truth that even celebrated warriors can be momentarily erased by concentrated violence and superior missile tactics; ethically, it points to war’s power to obscure identity, merit, and clarity, turning persons into targets and spectacle.
In the thick of the fighting, Sātyaki is showered with specially described arrows so intensely that he cannot be seen—his chariot ensemble (horses, charioteer, and banner) is visually swallowed by the barrage amid the army.