Shloka 9
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
श्यालौ तव महात्मानौ राजानौ वृषकाचलौ | भृशं विजषघ्नतुः पार्थमिन्द्रं वृत्रबलाविव,महाराज! आपके दोनों साले महामनस्वी राजकुमार वृषक और अचल, इन्द्रको वृत्रासुर तथा बलासुरके समान, अर्जुनको अत्यन्त घायल करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | śyālau tava mahātmānau rājānau vṛṣakācalau | bhṛśaṃ vijaṣaghnatuḥ pārtham indraṃ vṛtrabālāv iva, mahārāja |
Sañjaya said: “O great king, your two brothers-in-law—the high-souled princes Vṛṣaka and Acala—assailed Pārtha (Arjuna) with fierce blows, wounding him grievously, as Vṛtra and Bala once pressed Indra in battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of dharma in war: even ‘noble’ kinsmen, compelled by allegiance and the momentum of conflict, can become agents of severe harm. The epic simile (Indra pressed by asuras) frames Arjuna’s suffering as part of a larger, recurring pattern of cosmic and human struggle, inviting reflection on how loyalty and rivalry can override familial bonds.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s two brothers-in-law, the princes Vṛṣaka and Acala, are striking Arjuna fiercely and causing him serious injury, likening their assault to the way Vṛtra and Bala once fought against Indra.