Shloka 53
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तस्मिन् निपतिते वीरे सौभद्रो द्रौपदीसुत:
tasmin nipatite vīre saubhadro draupadīsutaḥ
सञ्जय उवाच— तस्मिन् निपतिते वीरे, सौभद्रो द्रौपदीसुतः ततः परं कर्म चकार; एषा युद्धकथायां परावृत्तिः— पतितस्य प्रतिशोधेन धर्मबन्धनं चानुबध्यते।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of immediate responsibility: when a hero falls, another steps forward. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between loyalty to one’s side and the escalating cycle of vengeance that challenges dharma.
Sañjaya signals that a prominent warrior has been brought down, and in response Abhimanyu (Saubhadra) and a son of Draupadī come into focus, indicating a shift to the next phase of combat and leadership on the field.