Shloka 5
शैनेयचरितम्
The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement
धृष्टद्युम्नमुखा: पार्था व्यूढानीका: प्रहारिण: । द्रोणस्य सैन्यं ते सर्वे शरवर्षैरवाकिरन्,धृष्टद्युम्म आदि पाण्डवपक्षीय सब प्रहारकुशल योद्धा अपनी सेनाका व्यूह बनाकर द्रोणाचार्यकी सेनापर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे
dhṛṣṭadyumnamukhāḥ pārthā vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ | droṇasya sainyaṃ te sarve śaravarṣair avākiran |
Sañjaya said: Led by Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the sons of Pṛthā, skilled in striking and arrayed in a formed battle-order, all together showered Droṇa’s army with a rain of arrows—an image of disciplined collective force unleashed in the harsh ethics of war, where strategy and prowess decide the immediate course of dharma on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined coordination in warfare: when warriors are properly arrayed (vyūḍhānīkāḥ) under capable leadership, their collective effort becomes decisive. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s battlefield dharma where duty, strategy, and restraint/skill shape outcomes even amid violence.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava warriors, led by Dhṛṣṭadyumna, have formed a battle array and begin a concentrated assault, covering Droṇa’s forces with volleys of arrows.