Mahabharata 9.65.4 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 65, Shloka 4
प्रभग्नं वायुवेगेन महाशालं यथा वने । भूमौ विचेष्टमानं तं रुधिरेण समुक्षितम्
sañjaya uvāca | prabhagnaṁ vāyuvegena mahāśālaṁ yathā vane | bhūmau viceṣṭamānaṁ taṁ rudhireṇa samukṣitam ||
বনে বায়ুর বেগে ভেঙে পড়া মহাশাল বৃক্ষের মতো, তারা তাকে ভূমিতে রক্তে সিক্ত হয়ে ছটফট করতে দেখল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war and the fragility of worldly power: pride and might can collapse suddenly, and violence culminates in suffering. The simile of a great tree felled by wind suggests that even the seemingly unshakable are subject to forces set in motion by their own actions and the larger moral order.
Sañjaya reports what is seen on the battlefield: Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, has been struck down and lies on the ground, bloodied and writhing. The description uses a vivid forest image—a huge śāla tree broken by wind—to convey the magnitude of his fall.
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