Shloka 256
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
अतिष्ठत रणे वीर: क्रुद्धरूप इवान्तक: । सब ओरसे बाणोंद्वारा विद्ध होनेपर भी पाण्डुकुमार नकुल हर्ष और उत्साहमें भरे हुए वीर योद्धाकी भाँति दूसरा धनुष हाथमें लेकर बड़े वेगसे दूसरे रथपर जा चढ़े और कुपित हुए कालके समान रणभूमिमें खड़े हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | atiṣṭhata raṇe vīraḥ kruddharūpa ivāntakaḥ | sarvataḥ bāṇair viddho 'pi pāṇḍukumāro nakulaḥ harṣotsāhabhṛto vīrayoddhā iva dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ pāṇau gṛhītvā mahāvegād anyasmin rathāroḍhuṃ samupacakrame, kupitaḥ kāla iva raṇabhūmau samatiṣṭhat |
Sanjaya berkata—Di medan laga sang pahlawan berdiri teguh, murkanya laksana Yama sang Pengakhir. Meski tertusuk panah dari segala arah, Nakula putra Pandu, penuh girang dan semangat, meraih busur lain, melompat dengan laju besar ke kereta lain, lalu berdiri di gelanggang perang bagaikan Kala yang tersulut amarah—tak tergoyahkan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya steadfastness: even when wounded and surrounded by danger, a warrior committed to duty does not collapse into despair but gathers resolve, replaces what is lost (a bow, a chariot), and continues the fight with disciplined courage.
Sanjaya describes Nakula in the Shalya Parva battle: though struck by arrows from all sides, he remains exhilarated and determined, takes up a second bow, mounts another chariot, and stands in the fray with a fearsome, death-like intensity.