Mahabharata 9.18.123 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 18, Shloka 123
शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्
Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally
भ्रातरो वास्य ते शूरा दृश्यने नेह केन च । वे बहुसंख्यक महामनस्वी मद्रमहारथी विशाल पाण्डव-सेनाको मथकर जोर-जोरसे पुकार-पुकारकर कहने लगे--“कहाँ है वह राजा युधिष्ठिर? अथवा उसके वे शूरवीर भाई? वे सब यहाँ दिखायी क्यों नहीं देते?
sañjaya uvāca | bhrātaro vāsyate śūrā dṛśyante neha kena ca | te bahusaṅkhyakā mahāmanasvī madrāmahārathī viśālāṃ pāṇḍava-senāṃ mathitvā jora-jorena pukāra-pukārakaraṃ vadanti sma—“kva sa rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ? athavā tasya te śūrā bhrātaraḥ? te sarve ’tra kuto na dṛśyante?” |
Sañjaya said: “Your heroic brothers are not seen here at all.” After churning through the vast Pāṇḍava host, the high-souled great chariot-warrior of Madra, surrounded by many, began to shout again and again with force: “Where is King Yudhiṣṭhira? And where are his valiant brothers? Why are they all not visible here?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic where morale and perception matter: a leader’s visibility and the presence of key warriors sustain an army’s confidence. It also shows how verbal challenge functions as psychological warfare, testing resolve and provoking response within the framework of kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya reports that after the Madra great chariot-warrior (Śalya) has pressed hard into the Pāṇḍava forces, he loudly calls out, demanding to know where Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers are, taunting that they are not to be seen on the field.
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