Shloka 21
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
तब रणक्षेत्रमें कुपित हुए सात्यकिने भी तीखे क्षुरप्र नामक भल्लसे धनुर्धर सोमदत्तके धनुषको काट दिया ।। अथैनं रुक्मपुड्खानां शतेन नतपर्वणाम् | आचिनोद् बहुधा राजन् भग्नदंष्टमिव द्विपम्,राजन! तत्पश्चात् उन्होंने झुकी हुई गाँठ और सुवर्णमय पंखवाले सौ बाणोंसे टूटे दाँतवाले हाथीके समान सोमदत्तके शरीरको अनेक बार बींध दिया
atha enaṁ rukmapuṅkhānāṁ śatena nataparvaṇām | ācinod bahudhā rājan bhagnadaṁṣṭram iva dvipam ||
Sañjaya berkata: Lalu di tengah pertempuran, Sātyaki yang murka menebas busur Somadatta dengan kṣurapra yang tajam. Setelah itu, wahai Raja, dengan seratus anak panah berbuluh emas dan beruas lentur, ia menembus Somadatta berkali-kali, laksana gajah yang patah gadingnya.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, anger and duty can drive relentless force against a weakened opponent; it implicitly warns that martial prowess is fragile and that combat often escalates beyond restraint once fury takes hold.
Sātyaki attacks Somadatta with a volley of one hundred gold-feathered, jointed arrows, piercing him repeatedly; Somadatta is compared to a tusk-broken elephant, emphasizing his battered, vulnerable state under sustained assault.