Shloka 23
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
ततो<भ्यधावतां तूर्ण पाण्डवं रथिनां वरम् । अपने भाईको मारा गया देख कर्णके दो महारथी पुत्र सुषेण और सत्यसेन नाना प्रकारके बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ पाण्डुपुत्र नकुलपर तुरंत ही चढ़ आये ।।
tato 'bhyadhāvatāṃ tūrṇaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ rathināṃ varam | jighāṃsantau yathā nāgaṃ vyāghrau rājan mahāvane ||
Sañjaya berkata: Lalu, melihat saudara mereka terbunuh, dua putra Karṇa—mahāratha Suṣeṇa dan Satyasena—segera menerjang Nakula, yang unggul di antara para pejuang kereta, sambil menghujaninya dengan anak panah beraneka ragam. Wahai Raja, sebagaimana dua harimau di rimba raya menerkam seekor gajah dengan niat membunuh, demikianlah kedua saudara yang garang itu menumpahkan rentetan panah ke segala arah atas mahāratha Nakula, bagaikan dua awan yang menurunkan hujan deras tanpa putus.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how personal grief and the desire for retaliation can harden the heart in war, converting loss into intensified aggression. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: kṣatriya duty to fight versus the moral cost of vengeance-driven violence.
After seeing their brother killed, Karna’s sons Suṣeṇa and Satyasena rush at Nakula and shower him with arrows. Sañjaya describes their attack with a vivid simile: like two tigers charging an elephant in a great forest, and like clouds pouring continuous rain.