Shloka 21
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
अभ्यवर्षत धर्मात्मा कुन्तीपुत्रं युधिष्ठिरम् । धर्मात्मा राजा शल्यने वर्षा करनेवाले इन्द्रकी भाँति कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरपर बाणोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
abhyavarṣata dharmātmā kuntīputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram |
dharmātmā rājā śalyas tu varṣā-karaṇavān iva indraḥ kuntīputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram iṣubhir abhyavarṣat ||
bhīmasenaṃ śaraiś cāpi rukma-puṅkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ |
mahābalī śalyas tu bhīmasenaṃ draupadeyān mādrīputrau nakula-sahadevau dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ sātyakiṃ śikhaṇḍinaṃ ca pratyekaṃ daśa-daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ samavidhyat |
tataḥ sa varṣā-kāle jalada iva indraḥ śara-vṛṣṭiṃ mumoca ||
संजय बोला: धर्मात्मा राजा शल्य ने कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिर पर, वर्षा बरसाने वाले इन्द्र की भाँति, बाणों की वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी। और भीमसेन को भी शिलापर तेज किए हुए सुवर्ण-पंखवाले बाणों से आहत किया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violent conflict, the epic frames warriors through the lens of dharma: the epithet dharmātmā highlights that reputation and inner disposition are judged ethically, while the narrative shows how duty-bound combat can coexist with moral evaluation—without romanticizing the destruction it causes.
Sanjaya reports that King Shalya launches an intense arrow-barrage: first focusing on Yudhishthira, then striking Bhima, Draupadi’s sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, Dhrishtadyumna, Satyaki, and Shikhandi—ten arrows each—likening the missile-storm to Indra’s monsoon rain.