Shloka 28
प्रलयकालमें प्रकट हुए यमराजके समान मद्रराज शल्य क्रोधसे आविष्ट हुए पुरुषकी भाँति अपने पुरुषार्थसे युद्धस्थलमें शत्रुओंको बाणोंद्वारा आच्छादित करने लगे ।। विनर्दमानो मद्रेशो मेघह्ादो महाबल: । सा वध्यमाना शल्येन पाण्डवानामनीकिनी
vinardamāno madreśo meghahrādo mahābalaḥ | sā vadhyamānā śalyena pāṇḍavānām anīkinī ||
Sañjaya said: Roaring aloud, the mighty lord of Madra—Śalya—like a thundercloud, like Yama revealed at the time of dissolution, began to cover the foes on the battlefield with a rain of arrows. As he poured his shafts into the fray, the Pāṇḍava host was cut and harried by him, and in the war’s moral darkness his force seemed like Death itself.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war magnifies human passions—especially wrath and pride—so that a warrior’s prowess can resemble a force of destruction. It invites reflection on kṣatriya-duty in battle while also hinting at the ethical shadow of violence: even valor, when driven by rage, becomes deathlike for those it strikes.
Sañjaya describes Śalya, the Madra king, roaring like thunder and unleashing a fierce assault. With his arrows he batters the Pāṇḍava host, and the Pāṇḍava army is depicted as being actively cut down under his attack.