Shloka 31
Adhyāya 35 — Bhīmasena’s Counter-Encirclement and the Karṇa Engagement Escalation
यदा द्रक्ष्यसि संग्रामे धर्मपुत्रं यमौ तथा,जब तुम्हें यह दिखायी देगा कि संग्राममें धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर, नकुल-सहदेव तथा अन्यान्य दुर्जय भूपाल बड़ी शीघ्रताके साथ हाथ चला रहे हैं, अपने तीखे बाणोंद्वारा आकाभमें मेघोंकी छायाके समान छाया कर रहे हैं, निरन्तर बाण-वर्षा करते और शत्रुओंका संहार किये डालते हैं, तब तुम ऐसी बातें मुंहले न निकाल सकोगे
yadā drakṣyasi saṅgrāme dharmaputraṃ yamau tathā,
Śalya said: “When, on the battlefield, you behold Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira and the twin brothers as well—swift in action, hard to overcome, spreading a shadow in the sky like a mass of clouds with their keen arrows, pouring forth an unbroken rain of shafts and cutting down their foes—then you will no longer be able to utter such boastful words.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against empty bravado: true assessment of strength and dharma in war comes from direct encounter with the opponent’s prowess, not from boastful speech.
Śalya addresses his interlocutor (contextually, Karṇa), warning that once he witnesses Yudhiṣṭhira and the twins fighting effectively—showering arrows like clouds—he will be unable to continue speaking arrogantly.