Shloka 24
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
दशभि: सात्वतस्यार्थे भीमो5हन् बाह्लिकात्मजम् | सोमदत्तो5प्यसम्भ्रान्तो भीममार्च्छच्छितै: शरै:,उस समय भीमसेनने सात्यकिकी सहायताके लिये सोमदत्तको दस बाण मारे। इससे सोमदत्तको तनिक भी घबराहट नहीं हुई। उन्होंने भी तीखे बाणोंसे भीमसेनको पीड़ित कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | daśabhiḥ sātvatasya arthe bhīmo 'han bāhlikātmajam | somadatto 'py asambhrānto bhīmam ārcchac chitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: For the sake of Sātvata (Sātyaki), Bhīma struck Bāhlika’s son Somadatta with ten arrows. Yet Somadatta did not lose his composure; in return, he assailed Bhīma with keen shafts, wounding him. The passage highlights steadfastness under attack and the relentless reciprocity of violence on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores steadiness (asambhrānta) amid danger and the warrior ideal of acting for an ally’s cause. Ethically, it also reflects how battlefield duty and loyalty can intensify cycles of retaliation, where each strike invites a counterstrike.
Bhīma, acting to support Sātyaki, shoots Somadatta with ten arrows. Somadatta remains unshaken and immediately counters by striking Bhīma with sharp arrows, injuring him.