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 said: He then fiercely covered the valiant Duḥśāsana with a shower of arrows—enveloping him as a spider wraps up a creature that has come within reach, binding it in its web. The image underscores the ruthless efficiency of battlefield skill, where courage alone cannot protect one who is tactically overmatched.
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.