Shloka 29
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
अजातशत्रुं कौन्तेयम भ्यधावद् युधिष्ठिरम् । महाबली मद्रराज मेघोंकी गर्जनाके समान सिंहनाद कर रहे थे। उनके द्वारा मारी जाती हुई पाण्डव-सेना भागकर अजातशत्रु कुन्तीकुमार युधिष्ठिरके पास चली गयी ।।
sañjaya uvāca | ajātaśatruṃ kaunteyam abhyadhāvad yudhiṣṭhiram | mahābalī madrarājaḥ meghānāṃ garjanā-samo siṃhanādaṃ karoti sma | tena tāḍyamānā pāṇḍava-senā bhagnā ajātaśatruṃ kuntīkumāraṃ yudhiṣṭhiraṃ prati jagāma || tāṃ sammṛdya tataḥ saṅkhye laghu-hastaḥ śitaiḥ śaraiḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Der überaus mächtige König von Madra, Śalya, stürmte auf Yudhiṣṭhira zu, den Sohn Kuntīs, genannt Ajātaśatru. Mit Löwengebrüll, wie das Donnern der Wolken, erfüllte er das Feld mit Schrecken. Das pândavische Heer, von ihm niedergemäht, brach auseinander und floh zu Ajātaśatru Yudhiṣṭhira. Dann, nachdem er sie im Kampf zermalmt hatte, durchbohrte jener schnellhändige Krieger sie mit scharfen Pfeilen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a ruler famed as Ajātaśatru—one who bears no enmity—must face the harsh necessities of kṣatriya-dharma in war: protecting the host, steadying morale, and meeting force with disciplined resolve rather than hatred.
Śalya, the powerful king of Madra, charges toward Yudhiṣṭhira with a thunder-like lion-roar. His assault breaks the Pāṇḍava ranks, and the fleeing troops stream back toward Yudhiṣṭhira; Śalya then continues to overwhelm them with swift, sharp arrow-fire.