Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 4
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
हर्षणे युद्धशौण्डानां भीरूणां भयवर्धने । गाहमानेषु योधेषु परस्परवधैषिषु
sañjaya uvāca |
harṣaṇe yuddhaśauṇḍānāṁ bhīrūṇāṁ bhayavardhane |
gāhamāneṣu yodheṣu parasparavadhaiṣiṣu ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, pertempuran itu menggembirakan para mahir perang dan makin menebalkan ketakutan para pengecut; para kesatria dari kedua pihak saling menerobos, masing-masing bernafsu menewaskan lawannya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dual psychological effect of war: it exhilarates the trained and valor-driven while amplifying terror in the timid. Ethically, it underscores how combat can normalize mutual intent to kill, revealing the tragic momentum of violence once armies fully engage.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has intensified: fighters from both sides are surging into close engagement, each seeking the other’s death, and the field becomes a place where courage and fear are simultaneously heightened.
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