Shloka 70
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
तमायान्तं महेष्वासं दुष्प्रसहूं दुरासदम्
tam āyāntaṁ maheṣvāsaṁ duṣprasahaṁ durāsadam
Sañjaya said: “Seeing him advancing—an archer of mighty bow, hard to overpower and impossible to assail—(they beheld a warrior whose approach itself inspired dread).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary martial capability—being ‘hard to subdue’ and ‘unassailable’—creates a moral and psychological atmosphere in war: courage and fear arise not only from weapons but from perceived character and prowess. It underscores the epic’s attention to the ethical weight of power and the dread it can impose.
Sañjaya describes a formidable warrior advancing on the battlefield, characterizing him with epithets that stress his overwhelming strength and the difficulty of confronting him.