Shloka 23
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
एकैकं दशभिर्बाणैविव्याध स महाबल: । ततो5सृजद् बाणवर्ष घर्मान्ति मघवानिव
sañjaya uvāca | ekaikaṃ daśabhir bāṇair vivyādha sa mahābalaḥ | tato 'sṛjad bāṇavarṣaṃ gharmānte maghavān iva |
Sañjaya sprach: Jener überaus mächtige Krieger durchbohrte jeden von ihnen mit zehn Pfeilen. Dann entfesselte er einen Pfeilhagel, wie Indra (Maghavān), der am Ende der heißen Jahreszeit Regen herabsendet.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impersonal force of warfare: extraordinary skill can rapidly inflict harm on many, and such power becomes a severe test of dharma—whether warriors maintain discipline, restraint, and duty even amid escalating violence.
Sañjaya describes a mighty fighter who first wounds each opponent with ten arrows, then intensifies the assault by releasing a continuous ‘rain’ of arrows, compared to Indra’s rains arriving after the heat of summer.