Shloka 20
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
अथाश्येत्य पदान्यष्टौ संनिपातो5भवत् तयो: । उद्यम्य लोहदण्डाभ्यामतिमानुषकर्मणो:
athāśyetya padāny aṣṭau saṃnipāto 'bhavat tayoḥ | udyamya lohadaṇḍābhyām atimānuṣakarmaṇoḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Entonces, avanzando ocho pasos el uno hacia el otro, ambos se cerraron. Alzando mazas de hierro, aquellos hombres de fuerza sobrehumana comenzaron a golpearse, y en ese instante surgió entre ellos una lucha terrible, cuerpo a cuerpo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly battle can intensify into brutal hand-to-hand violence when opponents close distance and abandon restraint; it implicitly warns that pride and wrath can eclipse discernment, even among mighty warriors.
Two warriors advance eight steps toward each other, come into close contact, raise iron clubs, and begin striking one another; Sañjaya emphasizes the terrifying, superhuman nature of their clash.