Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 22
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
अथोट्यम्य गदे घोरे सशृज्भाविव पर्वतौ । तावाजघ्नतुरन्योन्यं मण्डलानि विचेरतु:,तदनन्तर वे पुनः अपनी भयंकर गदाएँ उठाकर शिखरयुक्त दो पर्वतोंके समान परस्पर आघात करने और मण्डलाकार गतिसे विचरने लगे
athotyamya gade ghore saśṛṅgabhāv iva parvatau | tāv ājaghnatur anyonyaṁ maṇḍalāni viceratuḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Luego, alzando sus terribles mazas, los dos guerreros—como dos montañas gemelas coronadas de cumbres—se golpearon por turnos mientras giraban en movimientos de anillo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior code in a duel—steadfastness, skill, and fearlessness—while implicitly reminding that even disciplined combat is a fearful act with moral gravity in the larger tragedy of war.
Two combatants raise their terrible maces and exchange blows, moving in circular patterns (maṇḍalas) like trained duelists, compared to two peak-crowned mountains colliding.