Shloka 57
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
सात्यकिस्तु रणे हित्वा गुरुपुत्रं महारथम् । द्रोणं विव्याध विंशत्या सर्वपारशवै: शरै:
sātyakis tu raṇe hitvā guruputraṁ mahāratham | droṇaṁ vivyādha viṁśatyā sarvapāraśavaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
അപ്പോൾ സാത്യകി യുദ്ധത്തിൽ ഗുരുപുത്രനായ മഹാരഥൻ അശ്വത്ഥാമനെ വിട്ടുവെച്ച്, ഇരുമ്പുതണ്ടുള്ള ഇരുപത് അമ്പുകളാൽ ദ്രോണാചാര്യനെ കുത്തിവീഴ്ത്തി।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights battlefield ethics under pressure: warriors may set aside personal contests to confront the most consequential threat. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s moral complexity—reverence for a guru coexists with the kṣatriya obligation to oppose him when he stands as an enemy commander.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki disengages from Aśvatthāman, a major opponent, and redirects his assault toward Droṇa, wounding him with twenty iron arrows—an abrupt tactical shift aimed at checking Droṇa’s dominance on the battlefield.