Mahabharata 7.97.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 97, Shloka 39
शैनेयचरितम्
The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement
अजातशशत्रुं कौन्तेयं ज्वलन्तमिव पावकम् | मद्राणामी श्वर: शल्यो राजा राजानमावृणोत्,प्रजवलित अग्निके समान तेजस्वी अजातशशत्रु कुन्तीपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिरका सामना मद्रदेशके स्वामी राजा शल्यने किया
sañjaya uvāca | ajātaśaśatruṃ kaunteyaṃ jvalantam iva pāvakam | madrāṇām īśvaraḥ śalyo rājā rājānam āvṛṇot ||
Sañjaya dijo: El rey Śalya, señor de los Madras, se enfrentó al rey Yudhiṣṭhira—hijo de Kuntī, Ajātaśatru—que ardía como un fuego en llamas. En medio de la guerra, este encuentro se presenta como una cita entre el deber regio y la resolución marcial, donde los reyes se miran frente a frente como instrumentos de su juramento de lealtad y de las mayores exigencias del dharma en la batalla.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in wartime: rulers bound by allegiance and duty must face one another directly. The imagery of fire underscores moral and martial intensity—courage and resolve are presented as necessary qualities when dharma is contested on the battlefield.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya, king of Madra, advances to confront Yudhiṣṭhira (Ajātaśatru), who is described as blazing like fire—signaling a major face-to-face clash among leading figures during the Drona Parva battle sequence.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.