Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 2
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! रथपर बैठा हुआ रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ आपका प्रतापी पुत्र दुर्योधन रुद्रदेवके समान युद्धमें शत्रुओंके लिये दुःसह प्रतीत होने लगा ।।
sañjaya uvāca—mahārāja! rathopaviṣṭo rathināṃ śreṣṭhas tava pratāpī putro duryodhanaḥ rudradeva-samo yuddhe śatrūṇāṃ duḥsaha iva babhūva. tasya bāṇa-sahasrais tu pracchannābhavan mahī; parān siṣice bāṇair dhārābhir iva parvatān.
Sañjaya sprach: O König, dein tapferer Sohn Duryodhana, auf seinem Streitwagen sitzend und der Beste unter den Wagenkämpfern, wurde in der Schlacht wie Rudra selbst—für die Feinde kaum zu ertragen. Mit seinen tausendfachen Pfeilen bedeckte er dort die Erde und übergoss die Gegner mit Strömen von Geschossen, wie Regenwolken einen Berg mit herabstürzenden Schauern tränken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial power can appear godlike and overwhelming, yet it is ethically ambivalent: the same prowess admired in a kṣatriya becomes a force of suffering when directed toward destruction. It invites reflection on the thin line between valor and ruin in war.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana, positioned on his chariot, is unleashing a massive volley of arrows. The battlefield ground is said to be covered by his shafts, and the enemy is metaphorically ‘bathed’ by continuous streams of arrows, like a mountain drenched by rain.