Shloka 3
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 45: Saubhadra–Lakṣmaṇa-saṃyoga and Kaurava Counter-Encirclement
प्रविश्यैव तु राजेन्द्र क्षत्रियेन्द्रान्लकोपम: । सत्यश्रवसमादत्त व्याप्रो मृगमिवोल्बण:,राजेन्द्र! क्षत्रियशिरोमणियोंके लिये यमराजके समान अभिमन्युने उस सेनामें प्रवेश करते ही जैसे उन्मत्त व्याप्र हरिणको दबोच लेता है, उसी प्रकार सत्यश्रवाको ले बैठा
praviśyaiva tu rājendra kṣatriyendrān lokopamaḥ | satyaśravasam ādatta vyāghro mṛgam ivolbaṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O king, Abhimanyu—like Death itself to the foremost of warriors—had no sooner entered the host than he seized Satyāśravas, just as a fierce tiger pounces upon a deer.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethical terrain of kṣatriya-dharma in war: a warrior’s duty and prowess can manifest as swift, lethal action, and the imagery of Death and predator-prey stresses the inevitability and moral gravity of battlefield consequences.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu, upon entering the enemy formation, immediately overpowers and captures/strikes down the warrior Satyāśravas, compared to a fierce tiger pouncing on a deer.