Shloka 20

Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira

Book 9, Chapter 11

Devanagari script

शल्यस्तु शरवर्षेण वर्षन्निव सहस्रदूक्‌

Transliteration

śalyas tu śaravarṣeṇa varṣann iva sahasradṛk

Translation

Sañjaya said: But Śalya, with a rain of arrows, appeared like a cloud pouring down—his gaze seeming to multiply a thousandfold as he surveyed the battlefield. The verse underscores the relentless, impersonal force of war, where prowess manifests as overwhelming, rain-like destruction rather than measured restraint.

Word by Word

• शल्यः: Shalya
• शल्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• शरवर्षेण: with a shower of arrows
• शरवर्षेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• वर्षन्: raining down (showering)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृष्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• सहस्रदृक्: the thousand-eyed one (Indra)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्रदृश्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how martial excellence in war can become an overwhelming, almost natural-force-like violence; it invites reflection on the ethical tension between kṣatriya prowess and the destructive momentum of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Śalya in the thick of combat, releasing a dense shower of arrows, likened to rainfall, conveying his formidable presence and the intensity of the fighting.