Mahabharata 9.59.1 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 59, Shloka 1
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
अपर बछ। ] अ्शऑका:<म एकोनषशष्टितमो< ध्याय: भीमसेनके द्वारा दुर्योधनका तिरस्कार
sañjaya uvāca | taṁ pātitaṁ tato dṛṣṭvā mahāśālam ivodgatam | prahṛṣṭa-mānasaḥ sarve dadṛśus tatra pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, seeing him fallen—like a great śāla tree brought down—the Pāṇḍavas there all looked on with hearts uplifted.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how swiftly power can collapse in war—like a mighty tree felled—and how even righteous warriors may feel joy at an enemy’s downfall, raising ethical tension between human emotion and the ideal restraint urged by dharma.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍavas see a principal opponent lying fallen on the battlefield, compared to a huge śāla tree cut down, and they look on with exhilaration at this decisive moment.
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