Shloka 23
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
इसके बाद महारथी महाबली सोमदत्तने दूसरा धनुष लेकर सात्यकिको बाणोंकी वर्षासे ढक दिया ।। सोमदत्तं तु संक्रुद्धो रणे विव्याध सात्यकि: । सात्यकि शरजालेन सोमदत्तो5प्यपीडयत्,उस युद्धमें क़ुद्ध हुए सात्यकिने सोमदत्तको गहरी चोट पहुँचायी और सोमदत्तने भी अपने बाणसमूहद्वारा सात्यकिको पीड़ित कर दिया
somadattaṃ tu saṃkruddho raṇe vivyādha sātyakiḥ | sātyakiḥ śarajālena somadatto 'py apīḍayat ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged in the thick of battle, Sātyaki struck Somadatta with piercing arrows. Somadatta, in turn, pressed Sātyaki hard by covering him with a net-like shower of shafts. Thus, amid the relentless ethics of kṣatriya warfare, each answered the other’s assault with equal resolve and martial skill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya code in wartime: steadfastness under attack and the expectation of answering force with force. It also shows how anger (krodha) intensifies combat, yet the narrative frames the exchange primarily as martial duty and prowess rather than personal cruelty.
During the battle, Sātyaki, angered, wounds Somadatta with arrows. Somadatta retaliates by overwhelming Sātyaki with a dense ‘net’ of arrows, creating a rapid back-and-forth exchange typical of Mahābhārata battlefield descriptions.