सो ऽतिविद्धो बलवता सात्वतेन महारथः ॥
सोमदत्तो महाबाहुर् निपपात ममार च ॥
तं दृष्ट्वा निहतं तत्र सोमदत्तं महारथाः ॥
महता शरवर्षेण युयुधानम् उपाद्रवन् ॥
छाद्यमानं शरैर् दृष्ट्वा युयुधानं युधिष्ठिरः ॥
महत्या सेनया सार्धं द्रोणानीकम् उपाद्रवत् ॥
ततो युधिष्ठिरः क्रुद्धस् तावकानां महाबलम् ॥
शरैर् विद्रावयाम् आस भारद्वाजस्य पश्यतः ॥
so 'tividdho balavatā sātvatena mahārathaḥ ||
somadatto mahābāhur nipapāta mamāra ca ||
taṃ dṛṣṭvā nihataṃ tatra somadattaṃ mahārathāḥ ||
mahatā śaravarṣeṇa yuyudhānam upādravan ||
chādyamānaṃ śarair dṛṣṭvā yuyudhānaṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
mahatyā senayā sārdhaṃ droṇānīkam upādravat ||
tato yudhiṣṭhiraḥ kruddhas tāvakānāṃ mahābalam ||
śarair vidrāvayām āsa bhāradvājasya paśyataḥ ||
Cruelly pierced by the mighty Satvata, the great warrior, mighty-armed Somadatta collapsed and gave up his life. Seeing Somadatta struck down there, the great warriors rushed at Yuyudhana with a great shower of arrows. Seeing Yuyudhana being showered with arrows, Yudhishthira, together with his vast army, charged at Drona's host. Then the enraged Yudhishthira routed the great army of your men with arrows, before the eyes of Drona.
0012a9f69cb6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Somadatta falls, and the battle at once flows onward: one man's death is no halt, only a turn of the fray. It is telling that Yudhishthira, the king of righteousness, himself plunges into the thick of it to rescue a hard-pressed ally — care for another draws him into the most dangerous whirlpool. The verse teaches that in a shared cause no one hides behind others: even the elder, whose place is behind the line, comes forward when a friend is in danger, and by this sustains the spirit of the whole army.