Shloka 34
Droṇavadha-saṃniveśaḥ — The Convergence Toward Droṇa’s Fall
Book 7, Chapter 164
त॑ दृष्टवा निहतं तत्र सोमदत्तं महारथा: । महता शरवर्षेण युयुधानमुपाद्रवन्,सोमदत्तको मारा गया देख आपके बहुसंख्यक महारथी बाणोंकी भारी वृष्टि करते हुए वहाँ सात्यकिपर टूट पड़े
taṁ dṛṣṭvā nihataṁ tatra somadattaṁ mahārathāḥ | mahatā śaravarṣeṇa yuyudhānam upādravan ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing Somadatta slain there, the great chariot-warriors, in a surge of wrath and grief, rushed upon Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki), showering him with a mighty rain of arrows. The scene underscores the war’s relentless chain of retaliation—each fall immediately provoking a collective counterattack, where personal loyalty and clan-duty drive the next violent turn.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare amplifies cycles of vengeance: the death of a prominent warrior immediately triggers collective retaliation. Ethically, it points to the tragic momentum of conflict, where loyalty and duty can harden into escalating violence.
After Somadatta is seen slain on the battlefield, a group of great chariot-warriors turns on Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki), attacking him together with an intense barrage of arrows.