Shloka 55

द्रोणपुत्रस्याग्नेयास्त्रप्रयोगः — अर्जुनस्य ब्राह्मास्त्रप्रतिघातः — व्यासोपदेशः

Aśvatthāmā’s Agneyāstra, Arjuna’s Brāhmāstra Counter, and Vyāsa’s Instruction

Devanagari script

सात्यकिं यदि हन्याम धृष्टद्युम्नं च पार्षतम्‌

Transliteration

sātyakiṃ yadi hanyāma dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca pārṣatam

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—सात्यकिं यदि हन्याम धृष्टद्युम्नं च पार्षतम्।

Word by Word

• सात्यकिम्: Sātyaki
• सात्यकिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्यकि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• यदि: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि

• हन्याम: I should/would kill
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्षतम्: the son of Pārṣata (i.e., Dhṛṣṭadyumna) / Pārṣata
• पार्षतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki (Yuyudhāna)
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Pārṣata (Drupada)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a war framed as kṣatriya-duty, the text repeatedly foregrounds the ethical gravity of targeting eminent, dharma-associated warriors; strategic aims are inseparable from moral consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a conditional strategic thought: the possibility (or proposal) of killing key Pāṇḍava champions—Sātyaki and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—whose fall would drastically alter the balance of the battle.