Shloka 53
भीष्म-युधिष्ठिर-संमर्दः
Bhīṣma’s Pressure on Yudhiṣṭhira; Śikhaṇḍī’s Approach; Evening Withdrawal
छाद्यमानं शरत्रातैः शतानीकं॑ यशस्विनम्
chādyamānaṁ śaratrātaiḥ śatānīkaṁ yaśasvinam
Sabi ni Sanjaya: “Ang marangal at tanyag na Śatānīka ay lubusang natatakpan—nilulunod sa lahat ng panig—ng mga bugso ng palaso.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh impartiality of war: even the renowned are subject to being overwhelmed. It implicitly cautions against pride in fame or strength and highlights the fragility of embodied life amid violence.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment in which the warrior Śatānīka is struck from many directions, so densely that he appears ‘covered’ by showers of arrows—an image of intense pressure and near-encirclement in combat.