Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 413
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
अभ्यवर्षच्छरैस्तूर्ण पादातं पाण्डुनन्दनम् । भाईको मारा गया देख सुषेण क्रोधसे व्याकुल हो उठा और तुरंत ही हरसा कट जानेसे पैदल हुए-से पाण्डुनन्दन नकुलपर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगा
sañjaya uvāca |
abhyavarṣac charais tūrṇaṃ pādātaṃ pāṇḍunandanam |
Sanjaya sprach: Als er den Tod seines Bruders sah, geriet Suṣeṇa, von Zorn und Schmerz erschüttert, in Raserei und überschüttete sogleich Nakula, den Sohn Pāṇḍus, mit einem Pfeilhagel—Nakula, der zu Fuß kämpfen musste, nachdem sein Pferd niedergestreckt worden war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief and anger can rapidly escalate violence: the death of a close kin provokes immediate retaliation. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, this illustrates the peril of krodha—when emotion overrides restraint, the battlefield’s suffering multiplies.
Sañjaya narrates that Suṣeṇa, furious after seeing his brother slain, quickly rains arrows on Nakula. Nakula is described as pādāta—fighting on foot—because his horse has been cut down, leaving him temporarily disadvantaged.