Shloka 45
द्रौणिप्रतिज्ञा–नारायणास्त्रवर्णनम्
Drauṇi’s Vow and the Description of the Nārāyaṇāstra
आप्लुत: स ततो यान॑ सुतसोमस्य भास्वरम् | धनुर्गह्ा महाराज विव्याध तनयं तव,महाराज! तब प्रतिविन्ध्य उछलकर सुतसोमके तेजस्वी रथपर जा बैठा और हाथमें धनुष लेकर आपके पुत्रको घायल करने लगा
āplutaḥ sa tato yānaṃ sutasomasya bhāsvaram | dhanur gṛhya mahārāja vivyādha tanayaṃ tava ||
Sañjaya said: Then Prativindhya sprang up onto Sutasoma’s radiant chariot. Taking up his bow, O King, he began to wound your son—an episode that shows how, in the press of battle, valor and tactical advantage are pursued even at the cost of kinship bonds and the ordinary restraints of compassion.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic where swift initiative and martial duty (kṣatriya-dharma) dominate; personal ties and ordinary compassion are subordinated to the immediate demands of combat, raising the moral tension between duty and humane restraint.
Prativindhya leaps onto Sutasoma’s brilliant chariot, takes up a bow, and proceeds to strike/wound Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, as Sañjaya reports the unfolding combat to the king.