Shloka 7

Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

भीमसेनस्तु राजानं गदापाणिरवारयत्‌ | शल्यं तु सह सैन्येन कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर:

Transliteration

bhīmasenas tu rājānaṃ gadāpāṇir avārayat | śalyaṃ tu saha sainyena kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |

Translation

ગદા હાથમાં લઈને ભીમસેને રાજાને આગળ વધતા રોક્યો। અને કુંતીપુત્ર યુધિષ્ઠિરે સેના સહિત શલ્યને અટકાવ્યો।

Word by Word

भीमसेनःBhimasena

तुbut/indeed

राजानम्the king

गदापाणिःmace-in-hand (mace-bearer)

अवारयत्checked/stopped/warded off

शल्यम्Shalya

तुbut/and

सहtogether with

सैन्येनwith the army

कुन्तीपुत्रःKunti's son

युधिष्ठिरःYudhishthira

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Yudhiṣṭhira

Śalya

gadā (mace)

sainya (army)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In the battlefield setting, the verse highlights duty-oriented restraint and protection: leaders and warriors act to check destructive momentum, meeting force with disciplined opposition as required by kṣatriya-dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports simultaneous engagements: Bhīma, wielding his mace, blocks the advance of the king, while Yudhiṣṭhira confronts and holds back Śalya together with his troops.