सात्यकिं तु नरव्याघ्रं व्याघ्रदत्तस् त्व् अवारयत् ॥
शरैः सुनिशितैस् तीक्ष्णैः कम्पयन् वै मुहुर् मुहुः ॥
द्रौपदेयान् नरव्याघ्रान् मुञ्चतः सायकोत्तमान् ॥
संरब्धान् रथिनां श्रेष्ठान् सौमदत्तिर् अवारयत् ॥
sātyakiṃ tu naravyāghraṃ vyāghradattas tv avārayat ||
śaraiḥ suniśitais tīkṣṇaiḥ kampayan vai muhur muhuḥ ||
draupadeyān naravyāghrān muñcataḥ sāyakottamān ||
saṃrabdhān rathināṃ śreṣṭhān saumadattir avārayat ||
"And Satyaki, the tiger among men, was held back by Vyaghradatta, shaking him again and again with well-honed, sharp arrows. The sons of Draupadi, tigers among men, enraged, the finest of charioteers, releasing their finest arrows — them the son of Somadatta [Bhurishravas] held back."
2b95e8b01d28 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:22 PM UTC
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One after another, Yudhishthira's defenders are bound to their own fights: Satyaki, the Draupadeyas — an opponent is found for each. Thus the enemy's design is carried out not by a single blow but by division: to hold back each guardian apart from the rest. It is telling that the strength of an army lies not in numbers but in cohesion; broken into separate duels, it cannot shield the king. The verse teaches that a divided defense, however valiant each of its parts may be, leaves undefended the very one it was meant to guard.