Shloka 30
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
महता हर्षजेनाथ नादेन कुरुपुड्रवा: | उन कुरुकुलके श्रेष्ठ वीरोंने रोषमें भरकर महान् हर्षनादके साथ वेगशाली वीर मद्रराज शल्यपर धावा किया ।। ह्वादेन गजघण्टानां शड्खानां निनदेन च
mahātā harṣajenātha nādena kurupuṅgavāḥ | tān kurukulake śreṣṭhān vīrān roṣeṇa pūrayitvā mahāharṣanādena saha vegāś ca vīrā madrarājaṃ śalyam abhidadhruvuḥ || hrādena gajaghaṇṭānāṃ śaṅkhānāṃ ninadena ca ||
Sañjaya said: Then the foremost of the Kurus, raising a mighty, joy-born roar, surged forward. Filling those best of Kuru warriors with wrath, the swift heroes charged upon Śalya, the king of Madra, with a great cry of exultation—amid the booming of elephant-bells and the blare of conches.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how powerful collective emotions—joyful exhilaration and wrath—can drive warriors into intensified violence. In Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such surges of passion (harṣa, roṣa) are potent forces that can eclipse restraint, reminding readers that inner states shape outward action, especially in war.
Sañjaya describes the Kuru champions raising a great roar and, stirring one another’s anger, rushing swiftly to attack Śalya, the king of Madra. The charge is accompanied by the booming of bells on elephants and the blaring of conches, amplifying the battlefield’s tumult.