Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 6
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
पाण्डवानां बलौघस्तु शल्यमासाद्य मारिष | व्यतिष्ठत तदा युद्धे सिन्धोर्वेग इवाचलम्
pāṇḍavānāṁ balaughas tu śalyam āsādya māriṣa | vyatiṣṭhata tadā yuddhe sindhor vega ivācalam ||
Sañjaya said: “O noble one, when the massed host of the Pāṇḍavas reached King Śalya, it halted there in the battle—like the rushing force of a river that, on meeting a mountain, is checked and made to stand.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a powerful force can be restrained by a steadfast obstacle: in dharmic-ethical terms, momentum alone does not decide outcomes—discipline, positioning, and firmness (sthiti) can check even a ‘flood’ of power. It also underscores the battlefield reality that leadership and tactical resistance can halt an advancing host.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava army, advancing in great strength, reaches King Śalya and then comes to a standstill in the fight, compared to a river’s current being blocked when it meets a mountain.
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