Shloka 29
Adhyāya 35 — Bhīmasena’s Counter-Encirclement and the Karṇa Engagement Escalation
अपि संतनयेयुर्ये भयं साक्षाच्छतक्रतो: । यदा श्रोष्यसि निर्घोषं विस्फूर्जितमिवाशने:
api saṃtanayeyur ye bhayaṃ sākṣāc chatakratoḥ | yadā śroṣyasi nirghoṣaṃ visphūrjitam ivāśaneḥ ||
Śalya sprach: „Selbst jene, die Furcht zu bannen vermöchten—eine Furcht so unmittelbar wie die, die Śatakratu (Indra) einflößt—werden wanken, wenn du jenes schreckliche Dröhnen hörst, wie den krachenden Schlag eines Blitzes.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming sound and spectacle in battle can shake even those thought capable of mastering fear; true steadiness requires inner courage that is not dependent on external conditions.
Śalya is speaking in the Karṇa Parva, warning or taunting about an impending terrifying battle-roar—likened to thunder/lightning—suggesting it will unsettle warriors even of great reputation.