Shloka 43
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
ततः स पतितो भूमौ नाराचेन समाहतः । वज्नेण च यथा शज्र पर्वतस्येव दीर्यत:,नाराचसे घायल हुआ सुरथ वज्से विदीर्ण हुए पर्वतके शिखरकी भाँति पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा
tataḥ sa patito bhūmau nārācena samāhataḥ | vajreṇa ca yathā śṛṅgaṁ parvatasyeva dīryataḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da stürzte er, hart von einem nārāca-Pfeil getroffen, zu Boden—wie ein Berggipfel, den ein Blitz spaltet. Das Bild betont die grausame Endgültigkeit des Krieges: Selbst die Mächtigen werden in einem Augenblick niedergerissen, wenn die Gewalt entfesselt ist.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of embodied power in war: strength and status can collapse instantly under violent force. Ethically, it serves as a stark reminder of the destructive consequences of battle and the impermanence of worldly might.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior is struck by a nārāca arrow and falls to the earth. The fall is compared to a mountain summit being split by a thunderbolt, emphasizing the severity of the blow and the dramatic collapse.