Shloka 14
Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)
शालस्कन्धनिकाशानि क्षत्रियाणां महामृधे । उस महासंग्राममें बहुत-से क्षत्रिय वीरोंके शरीर, जो शालवृक्षकी शाखाओंके समान विशाल एवं हृष्ट-पुष्ट थे, छिन्न-भिन्न होकर टुकड़े-टुकड़े दिखायी देने लगे ।। नागभोगनिकाशै श्ष बाहुभि श्वन्दनो क्षितै:
śāla-skandha-nikāśāni kṣatriyāṇāṃ mahā-mṛdhe | nāga-bhoga-nikāśaiś ca bāhubhiḥ śvandano kṣitaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: In that great and terrible clash, the bodies of many Kṣatriya heroes—broad and sturdy like the branches of a śāla tree—were seen lying hewn into pieces. And arms, thick and curved like the coils of serpents, were strewn upon the earth, bearing witness to the ruin that unchecked fury brings in war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim cost of warfare: even the strongest bodies are reduced to fragments. It implicitly cautions that martial prowess, when driven by rage and rivalry, culminates in suffering and impermanence—an ethical reminder to restrain violence and uphold dharma even amid conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes the battlefield scene in the Virāṭa Parva: many Kṣatriya heroes have been cut down, their large, robust bodies compared to śāla branches, and severed arms likened to serpent-coils scattered across the ground—vivid imagery conveying the intensity of the fight.