Shloka 34
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
व्यचरन्त महाराज प्रेक्षणीया: समनन््ततः । महाराज! विजयसे उल्लसित होनेवाले पाण्डव आपकी सेनाओंमें सब ओर निर्भय विचरते थे। उस समय वे देखने ही योग्य थे ।। ३३ $ ।। कृपश्च कृतवर्मा च सौबलश्न महारथ:
vyacaranta mahārāja prekṣaṇīyāḥ samanantataḥ | kṛpaś ca kṛtavarmā ca saubalaś ca mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, mereka bergerak ke segala penjuru—sungguh pemandangan yang patut disaksikan. Para Pāṇḍava yang bersorak oleh kemenangan berkeliaran tanpa gentar di seluruh pasukanmu. Dan di sana ada pula Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, serta Saubala, seorang maharatha.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war is assessed through the narrator’s moral and aesthetic lens: valor and movement on the battlefield can appear ‘worthy to behold,’ yet the naming of key warriors also reminds the listener that such spectacle is inseparable from responsibility and the consequences of alliances.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that fighters were moving about on all sides in a striking manner, and he specifically notes the presence of major Kaurava-aligned warriors—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, and Saubala (Śakuni)—as the battle situation unfolds.