Shloka 21
तस्मिन् विनिहते वीरे गदानुन्ने महासुरे । प्रविश्य महतीं सेनां योधयामास मे सुत:,गदासे घायल हुए उस वीर महादैत्यके मारे जानेपर मेरा पुत्र साम्ब शाल्वकी विशाल सेनामें घुसकर युद्ध करने लगा
tasmin vinihate vīre gadānunne mahāsure | praviśya mahatīṃ senāṃ yodhayāmāsa me sutaḥ ||
When that heroic great demon—struck down by the mace—had been slain, my son plunged into the vast army and began to fight. The episode underscores how, after the fall of a formidable champion, the struggle does not cease; duty and resolve drive the next warrior to step forward into the fray.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness in duty amid violence: even after a major foe falls, responsibility and resolve compel the next warrior to act. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethic of perseverance and role-based obligation in a battlefield context.
After a mighty asura (demon-like warrior) is killed—having been struck down by a mace—the speaker (Vāyudeva) says that his son enters the large army and begins fighting, escalating the battle rather than ending it.