Shloka 3
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
तेषां षष्टिशतानन्यान् प्रामथ्नात् पाण्डव: शरै: | ते सम भीता: पलायन्ते व्याप्रात् क्षुद्रमृूगा इव,उस समय पाण्डुकुमार अर्जुनने उपर्युक्त सेनाओंके छः हजार सैनिकों तथा अन्य योद्धाओंको भी अपने बाणोंद्वारा मथ डाला। जैसे छोटे-छोटे मृग बाघसे डरकर भागते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे अर्जुनसे भयभीत हो वहाँसे पलायन करने लगे
teṣāṁ ṣaṣṭiśatān anyān prāmathnāt pāṇḍavaḥ śaraiḥ | te samabhītāḥ palāyante vyāghrāt kṣudramṛgā iva ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu, struck down those troops—along with six thousand others—by means of his arrows. Terrified, they fled from him, like small deer scattering in fear of a tiger.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear can rapidly break an army’s cohesion when confronted by superior skill and force. Ethically, it points to the inner dimension of warfare: courage and steadiness are as decisive as numbers, and panic leads to flight and disorder.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna strikes down large numbers of enemy fighters with his arrows. The remaining warriors, terrified of Arjuna, flee in all directions, compared to small deer running away from a tiger.