Shloka 22
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
नवं ततो<न्यत् समरे प्रगृहा राजा धनुर्घोरतरं महात्मा । शल्यं तु विव्याध शरै: समन्ताद् यथा महेन्द्रो नमुचिं शिताग्रै:
navaṁ tato 'nyat samare pragṛhya rājā dhanur ghorataraṁ mahātmā | śalyaṁ tu vivyādha śaraiḥ samantād yathā mahendro namuciṁ śitāgraiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: Entonces, en pleno combate, el noble rey tomó otro arco nuevo, aún más temible que el anterior, y con flechas de punta aguda hirió a Śalya por todos lados, como el gran Indra atravesó antaño a Namuci con dardos de filo acerado.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores kṣatriya-dharma: even a righteous ruler may be required to act with decisive, formidable force in war, not from hatred but from duty and strategic necessity. The Indra–Namuci simile frames the act as archetypal victory over a powerful adversary.
Sañjaya describes Yudhiṣṭhira taking up a new and more fearsome bow and surrounding Śalya with volleys of sharp arrows, wounding him from all directions—likened to Indra’s piercing of the asura Namuci.