Shloka 10
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 125: Duryodhana’s despair and vow after Jayadratha’s fall (जयद्रथवधे दुर्योधनविलापः)
स तु दुःशासनं शूरं सायकैरावृणोद् भृशम् । सशड्कं समनुप्राप्तमूर्णनाभिरिवोर्णया
sa tu duḥśāsanaṃ śūraṃ sāyakair āvṛṇod bhṛśam | saśaṅkaṃ samanupprāptam ūrṇanābhir ivorṇayā ||
Sañjaya dit : Puis il recouvrit avec violence le vaillant Duḥśāsana d’une pluie de flèches, l’enveloppant comme l’araignée enveloppe la proie venue à sa portée, la liant dans sa toile.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mere valor is insufficient without strategic advantage; when one is caught within an opponent’s effective range, skill and momentum can overwhelm even a brave fighter—suggesting an ethical tension between personal courage and the impersonal machinery of violence.
In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, Duḥśāsana is relentlessly struck and ‘covered’ by arrows. The comparison to a spider wrapping prey conveys that Duḥśāsana has come within the attacker’s control and is being immobilized by continuous missile fire.