Shloka 11
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
ते तस्य कवचं भित्त्वा पपु: शोणितमाहवे । आशीविषा यथा नागा भित्त्वा गां सलिलं पपु:
te tasya kavacaṁ bhittvā papuḥ śoṇitam āhave | āśīviṣā yathā nāgā bhittvā gāṁ salilaṁ papuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, those arrows pierced his armor and drank his blood—just as venomous serpents, breaking through the earth, drink water.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim truth of war: protective status and equipment (like armor) can be shattered, and life-blood itself becomes the ‘prize’ of violence. Ethically, it serves as a sobering reminder of the cost of kṣatriya conflict and the dehumanizing momentum of battle.
Sañjaya describes Nakula being struck: arrows pierce through his armor and cause heavy bleeding. The poet compares the arrows’ ‘drinking’ of blood to venomous serpents breaking through the earth to drink water.