Shloka 26
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
द्रौपदेया रणे क्रुद्धा दुर्योधनमवारयन् । शरैराशीविषाकारै: पुत्र॑ं तव विशाम्पते
sañjaya uvāca | draupadeyā raṇe kruddhā duryodhanam avārayan | śarair āśīviṣākāraiḥ putraṁ tava viśāmpate prajānātha ||
Sañjaya dit : Dans la fureur du combat, les fils de Draupadī arrêtèrent l’avancée de Duryodhana. Par d’effroyables flèches façonnées comme des serpents venimeux, ils retinrent ton fils, ô seigneur des peuples — montrant qu’en guerre même l’ambition royale doit céder devant une résistance déterminée et les conséquences de la voie choisie.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of chosen actions in war: aggressive advance driven by ambition meets determined opposition, and the battlefield quickly turns intention into consequence. It also underscores the Kṣatriya ethos—courage and resistance—while implicitly reminding the listener (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) that the war he enabled brings peril even to his own son.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Draupadī’s five sons, enraged in the fight, block Duryodhana’s forward movement by showering him with terrifying arrows likened to venomous serpents.