Mahabharata 9.18.40 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 18, Shloka 40
शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्
Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally
दुर्योधनबलं सर्व पुनरासीत् पराड्मुखम् | मद्रराजकजी वह विशाल सेना मारी गयी तथा शूरवीर मद्रराज शल्य पहले ही समरभूमिमें धराशायी किये जा चुके हैं, यह सब अपनी आँखों देखकर दुर्योधनकी सारी सेना पुनः पीठ दिखाकर भाग चली ।।
sañjaya uvāca | duryodhana-balaṃ sarvaṃ punar āsīt parāṅmukham | vadhyamānaṃ mahārāja pāṇḍavair jita-kāśibhiḥ | diśo bheje 'tha sambhrāntaṃ bhrāmitaṃ dṛḍha-dhanvibhiḥ ||
قال سانجيا: أيها الملك، إن جيش دوريودhana كله قد ولّى الأدبار مرةً أخرى. وقد أصابته ضربات الباندافا—أصحاب الأقواس الصلبة المبتهجين بالنصر—فاستولى الذعر والاضطراب على جيش الكورو، فتفرّق هاربًا إلى كل الجهات.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unrighteous power (adharma) becomes unstable: when key protectors fall and confidence breaks, an army collapses into fear and disorder. Ethical strength and rightful conduct sustain courage; mere force without dharma cannot hold firm under crisis.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana’s forces, struck hard by the victorious Pāṇḍavas and their steady archery, lose heart and flee in all directions, turning their backs on the battlefield.
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