Shloka 26
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
शल्यस्तु समरे जिष्णुं क्रीडन्निव महारथ: । आजपघानोरसि क्रुद्धो भल्लै: संनतपर्वभि:,एकैकं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् कड़ुकबर्हिणवाजितै: । उसके बाद सुशर्मा और कृपाचार्यको भी तीन-तीन बाणोंसे बींध डाला। राजेन्द्र! फिर समरांगणमें प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेश भगदत्त, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ, चित्रसेन, विकर्ण, कृतवर्मा, दुर्मीषण तथा महारथी विन्द और अनुविन्द--इनमैंसे प्रत्येकको गीधकी पाँखसे युक्त तीन- तीन बाणोंद्वारा विशेष पीड़ा दी तब महारथी शल्यने क्रीड़ा करते हुए-से कुपित हो समरभूमिमें झुकी हुई गाँठवाले भल्लोंद्वारा अर्जुनकी छातीमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी
sañjaya uvāca | śalyas tu samare jiṣṇuṃ krīḍann iva mahārathaḥ | ājaghānorasi kruddho bhallaiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ | ekaikaṃ tribhir ānarccchat kaḍukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ |
Sañjaya said: Then Śalya, that great chariot-warrior, as though playing in the battle, became enraged and struck Jiṣṇu (Arjuna) on the chest with barbed bhalla-arrows whose joints were bent. He then pierced each of the opposing warriors—one by one—with three arrows fitted with sharp, bird-feather fletching, inflicting marked pain. The scene underscores how, in the frenzy of war, even ‘sport-like’ prowess turns into wrathful violence, where skill is measured by injury rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war: extraordinary skill can appear ‘playful’ to the expert, yet it produces real suffering. It implicitly contrasts martial excellence with the ethical cost of anger (krodha) and the normalization of harm in battle.
Sañjaya describes Śalya entering the fight with great confidence, then angrily striking Arjuna in the chest with barbed bhalla-arrows and further assailing other warriors, each with three feather-fletched arrows, intensifying the battle’s violence.