Shloka 31
शैनेयचरितम्
The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement
तत् पच्यमानमर्केण द्रोणसायकतापितम् | बश्राम पार्षत॑ सैन्यं तत्र तत्रैव भारत,भरतनन्दन! सूर्यके द्वारा अपनी किरणोंसे पकायी जाती हुई-सी धृष्टद्युम्नकी सेना द्रोणाचार्यके बाणोंसे संतप्त हो जहाँ-तहाँ चक्कर काटने लगी
tat pacyamānam arkeṇa droṇasāyakatāpitam | bhrāmyamāṇaṃ pārṣata-sainyaṃ tatra tatraiva bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, the army of the son of Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna), as though being baked by the Sun’s heat, was scorched by Droṇa’s arrows and began to reel and wander in confusion here and there.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force and fear can dissolve cohesion in an army: when leadership and morale are pressured (here by Droṇa’s relentless archery), even a strong host loses order and becomes scattered—an ethical reminder that war’s power lies not only in weapons but in the breaking of collective steadiness.
Sañjaya reports that Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s forces are being intensely harried by Droṇa. Using the image of soldiers ‘baked by the Sun,’ he depicts them as scorched by arrows and moving about in confusion, unable to hold formation, dispersing across the battlefield.