Shloka 7
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
प्रययौ तत्र यत्रासौ पुत्रस्तव नराधिप । सर्वतः संवृतो वीरै: समरे चित्रयोधिभि:,नरेश्वर! तब उन योद्धाओंके ऐसा कहनेपर सुबलपुत्र शकुनि वहीं गया, जहाँ आपका पुत्र दुर्योधन समरांगणमें विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले वीरोंद्वारा सब ओरसे घिरा हुआ खड़ा था
sañjaya uvāca | prayayau tatra yatrāsau putras tava narādhipa | sarvataḥ saṃvṛto vīraiḥ samare citrayodhibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O king, Śakuni, the son of Subala, then went to the place where your son stood on the battlefield—surrounded on all sides by heroic warriors skilled in varied and striking modes of combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield reality that power and kingship do not remove vulnerability: even a ruler stands hemmed in by circumstances, allies, and the consequences of prior choices. Ethically, it points to how decisions leading to war culminate in situations where agency narrows and one becomes surrounded—literally and morally—by the outcomes of one’s actions.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śakuni goes to the spot where Duryodhana is standing in the battle, with warriors all around him—described as heroes capable of varied and remarkable combat. It sets the immediate scene for counsel/interaction near Duryodhana amid intense fighting.