Shloka 50
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
विव्याध समरे क्रुद्धो बहुभि: कड्कपत्रिभि: | महाबली शल्य पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरको रोककर उन्हें मार डालनेकी इच्छासे समरांगणमें कंकपत्रयुक्त अनेक बाणोंद्वारा उनपर क्रोधपूर्वक प्रहार करने लगे ।। अथ भूयो महाराज शरेणानतपर्वणा
sañjaya uvāca | vivyādha samare kruddho bahubhiḥ kaṅkapatribhiḥ | mahābalī śalyaḥ pāṇḍuputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram roṣakarān hantuṃ samaraṅgaṇe kruddhaḥ kaṅkapatrayuktair anekaiḥ śaraiḥ prāharat || atha bhūyo mahārāja śareṇānataparvaṇā ... |
Sanjaya said: In the heat of battle, the mighty Shalya, aflame with wrath and bent on slaying Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, struck him again and again on the field with many arrows fitted with heron-feathers. Then again, O King, with another arrow whose joints were bent downward, he pressed the attack.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can dominate even a great warrior’s conduct in war, intensifying violence and narrowing judgment. In the Mahabharata’s ethical frame, such rage is a powerful inner enemy: it may be tactically effective, yet it risks eclipsing restraint and dharmic clarity.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that Shalya, fighting fiercely, attacks Yudhishthira with many feather-fletched arrows, aiming to kill him. The description emphasizes repeated strikes and the relentless continuation of the assault with yet another specially described arrow.