Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 68
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
व्याकुले समपद्येतां वर्षासु सरिताविव । जैसे वर्षाकालमें दो नदियाँ एक-दूसरीके जलसे भरकर व्याकुल-सी हो उठती हैं, उसी प्रकार आपसकी मार खाती हुई वे दोनों सेनाएँ अत्यन्त संतप्त हो उठीं ।।
vyākule samapadyetāṁ varṣāsu saritāv iva | āviveśa tatas tīvraṁ tāvakānāṁ mahad bhayam | pāṇḍavānāṁ ca rājendra tathābhūte mahāhave ||
Sañjaya sprach: Wie zwei Flüsse in der Regenzeit, vom Wasser des jeweils anderen angeschwollen und in wilder Strömung aufgewühlt, so gerieten die beiden Heere, die einander schlugen, in äußerste Bedrängnis. Dann, o König, drang in jener großen Schlacht eine heftige, überwältigende Furcht in die Herzen sowohl deiner Krieger als auch der Pāṇḍavas, als der Kampf diese schreckliche Gestalt annahm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights war’s equalizing cruelty: once violence escalates, fear and anguish seize both sides alike. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict does not preserve security for ‘one’s own’—it spreads suffering across all combatants.
Sañjaya describes the battle’s intensity: the two armies clash so violently that they resemble two rain-swollen rivers colliding in turbulence. As the fight becomes dreadful, a powerful fear grips both the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava warriors.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.