Shloka 456
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
विस्मयं परमं जम्मुर्देवगन्धर्वदानवा: । बलवान मद्रराजके द्वारा शीघ्रतापूर्वक की जानेवाली उस बाण-वर्षसि पाण्डवोंके उस सैन्यसमुद्रको विचलित होते देख देवता, गन्धर्व और दानव अत्यन्त आश्चर्यमें पड़ गये
sañjaya uvāca | vismayaṃ paramaṃ jagmur devagandharvadānavāḥ | balavān madrarājena dvārā śīghratāpūrvakaṃ kṛtena tasmin bāṇa-varṣe pāṇḍavānāṃ taṃ sainya-samudraṃ vicalitaṃ dṛṣṭvā devā gandharvāś ca dānavāś cātyantaṃ āścaryeṇa samapadyanta |
Sanjaya sprach: Götter, Gandharvas und Dānavas gerieten in größtes Staunen, als sie sahen, wie das riesige, einem Ozean gleichende Heer der Pāṇḍavas durch den mächtigen König von Madra, der einen schnellen und unablässigen Pfeilhagel entfachte, ins Wanken und in Verwirrung geriet.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how concentrated martial force can destabilize even a vast army, reminding readers that power and speed in war create sudden reversals; it also frames the battle as morally weighty, witnessed by higher beings, where violence—often propelled by adharma—can rapidly erode order.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya, the king of Madra, releases a swift, intense rain of arrows that shakes the Pāṇḍava forces; observing this, gods, Gandharvas, and Dānavas react with extreme astonishment at the disruption of the Pāṇḍava ‘army-ocean’.