Shloka 22
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
ते5पीडयन् भीमसेन क्रुद्धा: सप्त महारथा: । प्रजासंहरणे राजन् सोम॑ सप्त ग्रहा इव,राजन! उन सात महारथियोंने कुपित हो भीमसेनको उसी प्रकार पीड़ा दी, जैसे सात ग्रह प्रजाओंके संहारकालमें सोमको पीड़ा देते हैं
te ’pīḍayan bhīmasenaṁ kruddhāḥ sapta mahārathāḥ | prajāsaṁharaṇe rājan somaṁ sapta grahā iva ||
Sañjaya said: O King, those seven great chariot-warriors, inflamed with anger, pressed Bhīmasena hard—just as, at the time of the destruction of creatures, the seven planets afflict Soma (the Moon).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective aggression by powerful warriors can overwhelm even a formidable hero, and it frames battlefield violence through a cosmic simile—suggesting that war can resemble an impersonal, fate-like force where many converge to crush one, testing endurance and resolve.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that seven great chariot-warriors, enraged, are jointly harassing and pressing Bhīma. Their coordinated assault is compared to the seven planets afflicting Soma (the Moon) at a time of cosmic destruction.