Shloka 13
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
आकर्णपूर्णायतसम्प्रयुक्तै: शरैस्तदा संयति तैलधौतै: । अन्योन्यमाच्छादयतां महारथौ मद्राधिपश्चापि युधिष्ठिरश्ष
sañjaya uvāca |
ākarṇapūrṇāyatasamprayuktaiḥ śarais tadā saṃyati tailadhautaiḥ |
anyonyam ācchādayatāṃ mahārathau madrādhipaś cāpi yudhiṣṭhiraś ca ||
Sañjaya dijo: Entonces, en lo más recio de la batalla, los dos grandes guerreros de carro—Śalya, señor de Madra, y Yudhiṣṭhira—dispararon flechas tensadas hasta la oreja y soltadas con plena extensión, con astiles bruñidos como si hubieran sido lavados en aceite. Con esos dardos agudos comenzaron a velarse mutuamente, procurando cada uno abatir al otro bajo una incesante cobertura de flechas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Kṣatriya ideal of unwavering skill and resolve in battle, while implicitly underscoring the ethical gravity of war: even the most disciplined martial excellence unfolds within a tragic arena where duty and destruction coexist.
Sañjaya describes Śalya (king of Madra) and Yudhiṣṭhira as they exchange fully drawn, oil-polished arrows, each attempting to ‘cover’ the other with a dense shower of missiles in direct chariot-to-chariot combat.