Shloka 40
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
पाण्डुके बड़े भाई महाराज धुृतराष्ट्र! तदनन्तर रथ, हाथी और घोड़ोंसहित समस्त पाण्डवयोद्धा मद्रराज शल्यको सब ओरसे पीड़ा देते हुए उनपर चढ़ आये ।। नानाशस्त्रौघबहुलां शस्त्रवृष्टिं समुद्यताम् । व्यधमत् समरे राजा महाभ्राणीव मारुत:
Sañjaya uvāca: tadanantaraṁ ratha-hasti-aśva-sahitaḥ samastaḥ pāṇḍava-yoddha-gaṇaḥ madrarājaṁ śalyaṁ sarvataḥ pīḍayan tam abhyapatat. nānā-śastraugha-bahulāṁ śastra-vṛṣṭiṁ samudyatām vyadhamat samare rājā mahā-bhrāṇīva mārutaḥ.
Sañjaya dit : «Ô grand roi Dhṛtarāṣṭra, frère aîné de Pāṇḍu ! Ensuite, tous les guerriers Pāṇḍava—avec chars, éléphants et chevaux—fondirent sur Śalya, roi de Madra, le pressant de toutes parts. Dans la bataille, le roi (Śalya) dispersa l’orage d’armes qui montait—épais de torrents d’armes diverses—comme un vent puissant qui déchire un amas de nuages.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness under pressure: even when surrounded and assailed from all sides, a warrior-leader is expected to maintain composure and skill, meeting force with disciplined resistance rather than panic.
All the Pāṇḍava forces—chariots, elephants, and cavalry—surge toward Śalya and harry him from every direction. Śalya responds by dispersing the oncoming ‘rain’ of weapons, compared to a strong wind scattering a bank of clouds.