Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 663
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
रणे5हन्यत पुत्रैस्ते शतशशो5थ सहस््रशः । राजन! महारथी पाण्डुपुत्र कौरव-सेनाका वध करने लगे। इसी प्रकार आपके पुत्र भी पाण्डव-सेनाके सैकड़ों
sañjaya uvāca |
raṇe 'hanyata putrais te śataśaśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ |
rājan mahārathī pāṇḍuputraḥ kaurava-senāyā vadhaṃ kartum ārabdhavān |
tathā tava putrā api pāṇḍava-senāyāḥ śatān sahasrāṇi ca vīrāṇāṃ samaraṅgaṇe sarvataḥ svabāṇaiḥ saṃjahruḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: In der Schlacht streckten deine Söhne Krieger zu Hunderten nieder und dann zu Tausenden. O König, der große Wagenkämpfer unter den Söhnen Pāṇḍus begann im Heer der Kauravas ein Gemetzel anzurichten. Ebenso vernichteten auch deine Söhne auf allen Seiten des Schlachtfeldes mit ihren Pfeilen Hunderte und Tausende von Helden des Pāṇḍava-Heeres—ein Bild der sich steigernden Kriegswut, in der Können die Selbstzucht überstrahlt und der Preis in Leben gemessen wird, nicht im Sieg allein.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim symmetry of war: both sides, driven by martial duty and rivalry, inflict mass destruction. It implicitly highlights the ethical cost of unchecked vengeance and the way battlefield prowess can eclipse compassion and restraint.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has intensified: a Pāṇḍava great warrior is slaughtering the Kaurava forces, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons respond in kind, killing large numbers of Pāṇḍava warriors with volleys of arrows across the battlefield.