Shloka 296
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
मुसलं पाण्डुपुत्राय चिक्षेप परिघोपमम् | जिसके घोड़े मार डाले गये थे, उसी रथपर खड़े हुए द्रोणपुत्रने पाण्डुकुमार अर्जुनपर लोहेका एक मुसल चलाया, जो परिघके समान प्रतीत होता था
sañjaya uvāca | musalaṃ pāṇḍuputrāya cikṣepa parighopamam |
Sañjaya dijo: En pie sobre aquel mismo carro, cuyos caballos habían sido abatidos, el hijo de Droṇa arrojó contra Arjuna, el hijo de Pāṇḍu, una maza de hierro, semejante a un pesado parigha. La escena subraya la implacable escalada de la violencia en la guerra: aun tras una pérdida atroz, la resolución del guerrero vuelve de inmediato al ataque, atando a ambos bandos con mayor fuerza al duro impulso de la batalla.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war drives a cycle of retaliation: even after suffering immediate setbacks (like losing horses), a combatant may respond with intensified aggression. Ethically, it points to the tragic momentum of conflict, where valor and duty can become entangled with vengeance and escalation.
Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāmā), standing on a chariot whose horses have been killed, hurls an iron musala—described as resembling a parigha—at Arjuna.