Shloka 25
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
मद्राधिपश्चापि युधिष्ठिरस्य शरैश्नतुर्भि्निजघान वाहान् | वाहांश्व हत्वा व्यकरोन्महात्मा योधक्षयं धर्मसुतस्य राज्ञ:
madrādhipaś cāpi yudhiṣṭhirasya śaraiś caturbhir nijaghāna vāhān | vāhāṃś ca hatvā vyakarot mahātmā yodha-kṣayaṃ dharmasutasya rājñaḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: El señor de Madra también abatió con cuatro flechas los cuatro corceles de Yudhiṣṭhira. Tras matar a los caballos, el magnánimo Śalya se entregó a la destrucción de los guerreros del rey Yudhiṣṭhira, hijo del Dharma: un acto que intensifica la presión moral de la guerra al atacar la movilidad y la protección del rey, no sólo su persona.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare often escalates by attacking a leader’s supports (like chariot-horses) rather than only the leader, raising ethical tension: tactical necessity in battle can conflict with ideals of restraint and dharma, especially when it endangers many by disabling a king’s protection and mobility.
Śalya, king of Madra, shoots four arrows and kills Yudhiṣṭhira’s four chariot-horses. After disabling the chariot, he proceeds to begin slaughtering Yudhiṣṭhira’s warriors, intensifying the combat around the Pandava king.