Shloka 14
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
वध्यमानेष्वनीकेषु मद्रराजेन पाण्डव: । अमर्षवशमापन्नो धर्मराजो युधिष्िर:,जब मद्रराजके द्वारा इस प्रकार पाण्डव-सैनिकोंका संहार होने लगा, तब पाण्डुपुत्र धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर अमर्षके वशीभूत हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | vadhyamāneṣv anīkeṣu madrarājena pāṇḍavaḥ | amarṣavaśam āpanno dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As the Pāṇḍava battalions were being cut down by the king of Madra, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the Pāṇḍava, was seized by righteous indignation—his forbearance giving way before the slaughter of his men.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension central to the epic: even a ruler devoted to dharma (Yudhiṣṭhira) can be driven by amarṣa—righteous indignation—when confronted with unjust or unbearable destruction. It frames anger not as mere passion but as a response to the collapse of order and the duty to protect one’s people.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya, the king of Madra, is effectively slaughtering the Pāṇḍava forces. Seeing his troops being destroyed, Yudhiṣṭhira loses his usual restraint and becomes overtaken by indignation, setting up his reaction and the next turn in the battle narrative.