Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 4
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
हर्षणे युद्धशौण्डानां भीरूणां भयवर्धने । गाहमानेषु योधेषु परस्परवधैषिषु
sañjaya uvāca |
harṣaṇe yuddhaśauṇḍānāṁ bhīrūṇāṁ bhayavardhane |
gāhamāneṣu yodheṣu parasparavadhaiṣiṣu ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—মহারাজ! সেই যুদ্ধ ছিল যুদ্ধকুশলদের আনন্দবর্ধক এবং ভীরুদের ভয়বর্ধক; উভয় পক্ষের যোদ্ধারা পরস্পরের বধের বাসনায় একে অপরের মধ্যে ঢুকে পড়ছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dual psychological effect of war: it exhilarates the trained and valor-driven while amplifying terror in the timid. Ethically, it underscores how combat can normalize mutual intent to kill, revealing the tragic momentum of violence once armies fully engage.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has intensified: fighters from both sides are surging into close engagement, each seeking the other’s death, and the field becomes a place where courage and fear are simultaneously heightened.
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