Shloka 516
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
विव्याध निशितैर्बाणै: कड़कबर्हिणवाजितै: । तब महायशस्वी धर्मराजने भी अत्यन्त कुपित हो कंक और मोरकी पाँखोंवाले पैने बाणोंसे मद्रराज शल्यको क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | vivyādha niśitair bāṇaiḥ kaṅkabārhiṇavājitaiḥ | tataḥ mahāyaśasvī dharmarājo 'bhī atyantaṃ kupito madra-rājaṃ śalyaṃ kanka-mora-pakṣa-vat niśitaiḥ bāṇaiḥ kṣata-vikṣataṃ cakāra |
Sañjaya said: Then the illustrious Dharmarāja, inflamed with intense anger, pierced Madra’s king Śalya with sharp arrows—arrows adorned with vulture and peacock feathers—so that Śalya was left wounded and torn. In the grim ethic of battle, the king who upholds dharma is shown acting with fierce resolve, meeting violence with disciplined force when duty demands it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a ruler devoted to dharma may be compelled to employ force in a righteous war; the episode highlights kṣatriya-duty—acting decisively against an enemy—while also reminding that anger arises even in the virtuous and must be directed toward the demands of duty rather than personal cruelty.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja), overcome with intense anger, shoots Śalya, the king of Madra, with sharp, feather-fletched arrows, leaving Śalya wounded and lacerated amid the ongoing battle.