Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 12

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

कोपोद्धूतशरज्वालो धनु:शब्दानिलो महान्‌

Transliteration

kopoddhūtaśarajvālo dhanuḥśabdānilo mahān

Translation

Sañjaya sagte: „Ein mächtiger Wind — aus dem Dröhnen des Bogens gemacht — erhob sich, und seine Flamme war der Pfeilhagel, vom Zorn vorangetrieben.“

Word by Word

• कोप: anger
• कोप: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोप
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उद्धूत: shaken up, stirred
• उद्धूत: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्-धू (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शर: arrow
• शर: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ज्वालः: flame
• ज्वालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वाला
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शब्द: sound
• शब्द: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अनिलः: wind
• अनिलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनिल
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महान्: great, mighty
• महान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• arrows (śarāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (kopa) transforms skill and weaponry into a destructive force: wrath becomes the impulse, arrows become flame, and the bow’s roar becomes a storm-wind—an ethical reminder that inner states can magnify harm in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battle’s intensity through metaphor: the combatant’s anger drives a blazing volley of arrows, and the thunderous sound of the bow is likened to a great wind sweeping the field.