Shloka 26
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — सात्यकि-अलम्बुसयोर्युद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue; Account of Sātyaki vs Alambusa
सिंहनादं ततः कृत्वा द्रोणं विव्याध सात्यकि: । दशभि: सायकैश्चान्यै: पड़भिरष्टाभिरेव च,उन्होंने सिंहनाद करके लगातार दस, छ: और आठ बाणोंद्वारा टद्रोणाचार्यको गहरी चोट पहुँचायी
siṃhanādaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā droṇaṃ vivyādha sātyakiḥ | daśabhiḥ sāyakaiś cānyaiḥ ṣaḍbhir aṣṭābhir eva ca ||
Sañjaya said: Then, after uttering a lion-like battle-cry, Sātyaki pierced Droṇācārya with arrows—first with ten, and then again with six and with eight more—striking him hard in the midst of the righteous yet devastating clash of kinsmen, where prowess is displayed but the moral cost of war steadily deepens.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethos—courage and decisive action—while implicitly reminding the reader that even justified martial duty (kṣatriya-dharma) unfolds within a tragic moral landscape: revered figures like Droṇa become targets, showing how war strains bonds of respect and kinship.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki, after a fierce lion-like shout, shoots Droṇa with successive volleys of arrows—ten, then six, then eight—indicating an intense exchange and Sātyaki’s aggressive attempt to check Droṇa on the battlefield.