Mahabharata 9.17.52 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 17, Shloka 52
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
प्रसार्य बाहू च रथाद् गतो गां संछिजन्नवर्मा कुरुनन्दनेन | महेन्द्रवाहप्रतिमो महात्मा वज्राहतं शुद्रमिवाचलस्य
sañjaya uvāca |
prasārya bāhū ca rathād gato gāṃ saṃchijann avarmā kurunandanena |
mahendravāhapratimo mahātmā vajrāhataṃ śudram ivācalasya ||
Sañjaya said: Spreading out his arms, King Śalya fell from his chariot onto the earth, his armor torn and shattered by Bhīmasena, O scion of the Kurus. That great-souled warrior, huge like Indra’s mount Airāvata, collapsed like a mountain-peak struck by the thunderbolt—an image of how, in war, even the mighty are brought down when their protection and pride are broken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly might: even a colossal, celebrated warrior can be brought down when his defenses fail. It implicitly warns against reliance on strength and status alone, highlighting the inevitability of consequence in righteous warfare and the impermanence of embodied power.
Sañjaya describes King Śalya being struck down in battle: his armor has been torn apart by Bhīmasena, and Śalya falls from his chariot to the ground with arms outstretched, compared to a mountain-peak shattered by Indra’s thunderbolt.
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