Mahabharata 9.14.393 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 393
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
चुकोप समरे द्रौणिर्दण्डाहत इवोरग: । महारथी सुरथको क्रोधपूर्वक आक्रमण करते देख अश्वत्थामा समरमें डंडेकी चोट खाये हुए सर्पके समान अत्यन्त कुपित हो उठा
cukopa samare drauṇir daṇḍāhata ivoragaḥ | mahārathī surathako krodhapūrvakam ākramaṇaṃ karte dekh aśvatthāmā samareṃ daṇḍe kī coṭ khāye hue sarpa ke samān atyanta kupita ho uṭhā |
સંજય બોલ્યો—મહારથી સુરથને ક્રોધપૂર્વક આક્રમણ કરતા જોઈ દ્રૌણિ અશ્વત્થામા સમરમાં દંડથી ઘાયલ થયેલા સર્પ સમાન અત્યંત ક્રોધિત થઈ ઊઠ્યો।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can rapidly intensify conflict: once provoked, a warrior’s mind may become reactive like a wounded serpent. Ethically, it warns that wrath-driven action narrows discernment and can push warfare toward excess, even when framed within kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya narrates that Surathaka, an elite chariot-warrior, launches a furious attack. Witnessing this, Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son) becomes violently enraged in the battle, compared to a serpent struck by a staff—signaling imminent, fierce retaliation.
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