Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 12
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
अभ्यद्रवत राजानं प्रगृह्मान्यन्महद् धनुः । ततो दुर्योधन संख्ये विव्याध दशभि: शरै:
abhyadravat rājānaṃ pragṛhṇānyan mahad dhanuḥ | tato duryodhanaḥ saṅkhye vivyādha daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: “Tomando otro gran arco, se lanzó de frente contra el rey. Entonces, en medio del combate, Duryodhana lo atravesó con diez flechas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya world of the Mahābhārata: courage and initiative (charging with a great bow) meet immediate retaliation. Ethically, it reflects how warfare compresses moral life into duty, prowess, and consequence—where even a king is treated as a combatant, not as a protected figure.
A warrior rushes at a king with a mighty bow. Duryodhana responds in the battle line by shooting and wounding him with ten arrows, marking a sharp turn in the exchange of attacks.