Shloka 6
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
सोमदत्तो5पि तं वीरं शतेन प्रत्यविध्यत । सात्वतस्त्वभिसंक्रुद्ध: पुत्राधिभिरभिप्लुतम्,सोमदत्तने भी वीर भीमसेनको सौ बाणोंसे वेधकर बदला चुकाया। इधर सात्यकिने भी अत्यन्त कुपित हो पुत्रशोकमें डूबे हुए, नहुषनन्दन ययातिकी भाँति वृद्धताके गुणोंसे युक्त बूढ़े सोमदत्तको वज्रको भी मार गिरानेवाले दस तीखे बाणोंसे बींध डाला
Somadatto 'pi taṃ vīraṃ śatena pratyavidhyata | Sātvatas tv abhisaṃkruddhaḥ putrādhībhiḥ abhiplutam, Somadattaṃ ca vṛddhaṃ vajrasyāpi nipātinaḥ daśabhiḥ tīkṣṇaiḥ śaraiḥ vivyādha ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Somadatta pun membalas sang pahlawan dengan menembus Bhīma dengan seratus anak panah. Lalu Sātyaki—menyala oleh amarah dan ditenggelamkan duka atas putra-putranya—memanah Somadatta yang telah lanjut usia, dengan sepuluh anak panah tajam yang sekeras sambaran vajra.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief and anger can drive escalation in war: even an elder like Somadatta becomes a target when retaliation and personal loss overpower restraint. It implicitly warns that emotional overwhelm (śoka, krodha) can distort judgment within the demands of kṣatriya duty.
Somadatta retaliates by striking a warrior with a hundred arrows. In response, Sātyaki—furious and grieving his sons—pierces the aged Somadatta with ten very sharp arrows, intensifying the exchange amid the chaos of battle.