Shloka 9
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शल्यपर्वमें संकुलयुद्धविषयक नवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
samārcchac citrasenaṃ tu nakulo yuddha-durmadaḥ | tau parasparam āsādya citra-kārmuka-dhāriṇau ||
Sañjaya sprach: In eben diesem Augenblick stürmte Nakula, berauscht vom Kampfesrausch, auf Citrasena, den Sohn Karṇas, los. Als die beiden einander frontal begegneten, begannen diese Helden—Träger wunderbarer Bögen—einander mit Salven von Pfeilen zu überschütten, wie zwei große Regenwolken, die aus Süden und Norden heranziehen und sich gegenseitig ausgießen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the momentum of war can inflame pride and fury (durmada), making even skilled warriors mirror destructive forces; it implicitly cautions that valor without restraint easily becomes mutual harm, a moral tension within kṣatriya-dharma.
Nakula attacks Citrasena (Karṇa’s son). The two meet in close combat and exchange dense volleys of arrows, compared to two rain-clouds from opposite directions pouring down torrents.