Shloka 45
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
अभ्यवर्षन्त ते सर्वे पाण्डवं निशितै: शरै: । अवाकिरंश्न ते म्लेच्छा नानायुद्धविशारदा:,नाना प्रकारके युद्धोंमें कुशल वे सभी म्लेच्छगण पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनपर तीखे बाणोंकी वर्षा करके उन्हें आच्छादित करने लगे
abhyavarṣanta te sarve pāṇḍavaṃ niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | avākiraṃś ca te mlecchā nānāyuddhaviśāradāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then all of them showered the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) with sharp arrows. Those foreign warriors, skilled in many kinds of fighting, rained missiles upon him, seeking to cover and overwhelm him in the press of battle—an image of war’s collective fury directed against a single steadfast champion.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s war-ethic tension: many combatants unite to overwhelm a single hero, underscoring both the ferocity of battle and the expectation that a kṣatriya endures adversity without abandoning resolve. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s habit of describing martial skill while implicitly questioning the human cost of such massed violence.
Sañjaya reports that a group of warriors—described as mlecchas and proficient in diverse fighting methods—collectively unleash a dense volley of sharp arrows at the Pāṇḍava, i.e., Arjuna, attempting to blanket him with missiles and press him down in the fight.