Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 22
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
नवं ततो<न्यत् समरे प्रगृहा राजा धनुर्घोरतरं महात्मा । शल्यं तु विव्याध शरै: समन्ताद् यथा महेन्द्रो नमुचिं शिताग्रै:
navaṁ tato 'nyat samare pragṛhya rājā dhanur ghorataraṁ mahātmā | śalyaṁ tu vivyādha śaraiḥ samantād yathā mahendro namuciṁ śitāgraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, in the thick of battle, the noble king took up another, new bow—still more dreadful than before—and struck Śalya on every side with sharp-pointed arrows, just as great Indra once pierced Namuci with keen-edged shafts.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores kṣatriya-dharma: even a righteous ruler may be required to act with decisive, formidable force in war, not from hatred but from duty and strategic necessity. The Indra–Namuci simile frames the act as archetypal victory over a powerful adversary.
Sañjaya describes Yudhiṣṭhira taking up a new and more fearsome bow and surrounding Śalya with volleys of sharp arrows, wounding him from all directions—likened to Indra’s piercing of the asura Namuci.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.