Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
पार्थभूतममन्यन्त प्रेक्षमाणास्तथाविधम् | समरभूमिमें अर्जुनके नामसे अंकित बाणोंकी चोट खाते हुए कौरव-सैनिक उन्हें उसी रूपमें देखते हुए सब कुछ अर्जुनमय ही मानने लगे
pārthabhūtam amanyanta prekṣamāṇās tathāvidham | samara-bhūmau ’rjuna-nāmāṅkita-bāṇa-prahāraṁ prāpya kaurava-sainikās taṁ tathā-rūpaṁ paśyantaḥ sarvaṁ arjunamayaṁ evāmanyanta |
રણભૂમિમાં તેને તે અદભુત અવસ્થામાં જોઈ, અર્જુનના નામથી અંકિત બાણોના ઘા ખાતા કૌરવ સૈનિકો તેને જાણે સ્વયં અર્જુન જ માનવા લાગ્યા. તેને એમ જ જોતા જોતા ભય અને વિસ્મયથી તેમનો વિવેક ઢળી ગયો અને તેમને સામેનું બધું અર્જુનમય જ લાગવા લાગ્યું.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how overwhelming prowess in war can distort perception: fear and repeated impact make opponents see a single heroic agency everywhere. Ethically, it underscores the psychological dimension of kṣatriya-dharma—courage and steadiness are as decisive as weapons, while panic turns the mind into a battlefield of its own.
Sanjaya reports that the Kaurava troops, being struck by arrows bearing Arjuna’s name and witnessing a warrior’s formidable display, begin to think he is Arjuna himself. In their terror and astonishment, they feel the entire scene is ‘Arjuna-filled,’ as if Arjuna’s presence dominates everything on the field.
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