Shalya Parva Adhyaya 17 Shloka 15 - Mahabharata | Spanish | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 15

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

तयोर्धनुज्यातलनि:स्वनो महान्‌ महेन्द्रवजञाशनितुल्यनि:स्वन: । परस्परं बाणगणैर्महात्मनो: प्रवर्षतोर्मद्रपपाण्डुवीरयो:

Transliteration

tayor dhanurjyātala-niḥsvano mahān mahendra-vajrāśani-tulya-niḥsvanaḥ | parasparaṃ bāṇa-gaṇair mahātmanoḥ pravarṣator madrapa-pāṇḍu-vīrayoḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Entre aquellos dos magnánimos—el rey de Madra y el héroe Pāṇḍava—mientras se rociaban mutuamente con andanadas de flechas, se alzó un estruendo: el gran chasquido de sus cuerdas de arco, semejante al fragor del rayo de Indra.

Word by Word

तयोःof those two

धनुज्याbowstring

तलsurface/flat part (of the bow)

निःस्वनःsound, twang

महान्great

महेन्द्रof Mahendra (Indra)

वज्रwith the thunderbolt

अशनितुल्यequal to lightning

निःस्वनःsound, roar

परस्परम्mutually, against each other

बाणगणैःwith multitudes of arrows

महात्मनोःof the two great-souled ones

प्रवर्षतोःof the two showering forth

मद्रपof the Madra king (Shalya)

पाण्डुवीरयोःof the two Pāṇḍava heroes

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Indra (Mahendra)

vajra (Indra’s thunderbolt)

madrapa (Śalya, king of Madra)

Pāṇḍava warrior (Nakula)

bows and bowstrings

arrows (bāṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the gravity and discipline of kṣatriya combat: even amid destructive force, the warriors’ steadfastness and skill are emphasized. The ethical frame is the warrior code—courage, endurance, and resolve—rather than personal malice, conveyed through elevated, cosmic imagery (Indra’s thunderbolt).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a fierce exchange between the king of Madra (Śalya) and a Pāṇḍava hero (Nakula). As both rain volleys of arrows at each other, the sound of their bows and bowstrings becomes immense, compared to the crash of Indra’s vajra.