Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 32
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
बलेन तेन विक्रम्य वर्तमाने जनक्षये । पृष्ठत: पाण्डवानीकम भ्यध्नन्निशितै: शरै:
balena tena vikramya vartamāne janakṣaye | pṛṣṭhataḥ pāṇḍavānīkam abhyadhnan niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Seine Kraft sammelnd und vorwärts drängend, während das Menschenschlachten wütete, traf er das Heer der Pāṇḍavas von hinten mit scharfen Pfeilen – und machte die Schlacht zu einem erbarmungslosen Überfall auf jene, die von rückwärts getroffen wurden.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, amid mass slaughter, tactical aggression can override restraint; it implicitly invites reflection on kṣatriya conduct and the moral tension between battlefield success and fair combat.
During the height of the killing, the attackers advance with force and strike the Pandava formation from the rear using sharp arrows, intensifying confusion and casualties in the Pandava ranks.