Shloka 26
द्रौपदेया रणे क्रुद्धा दुर्योधनमवारयन् । शरैराशीविषाकारै: पुत्र॑ं तव विशाम्पते,प्रजानाथ! युद्धमें कुपित हुए द्रौपदीके पाँचों पुत्रोंने विषधर सर्पके समान आकारवाले भयंकर बाणोंद्वारा आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनको आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दिया
sañjaya uvāca | draupadeyā raṇe kruddhā duryodhanam avārayan | śarair āśīviṣākāraiḥ putraṁ tava viśāmpate prajānātha ||
Sañjaya said: In the fury of battle, Draupadī’s sons checked Duryodhana’s advance. With dreadful arrows shaped like venomous serpents, they held back your son, O lord of the people—showing how, in war, even royal ambition is forced to yield before determined resistance and the consequences of one’s chosen course.
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.