Shloka 90
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
तस्मिन् महेष्वासवरे विशस्ते संग्राममध्ये कुरुपुड्रवेन । पार्था: समेता: परमप्रहृष्टा: शड्खान् प्रदध्मुर्ठतमीक्ष्य शल्यम्,कुरुकुलशिरोमणि युधिष्ठिरके द्वारा युद्धमें श्रेष्ठ महाधनुर्धर शल्यके मारे जानेपर कुन्तीके सभी पुत्र एकत्र हो अत्यन्त हर्षमें भर गये और शल्यको मारा गया देख शंख बजाने लगे
tasmin maheṣvāsavare viśaste saṅgrāmamadhye kurupuṅgavena | pārthāḥ sametāḥ paramaprahṛṣṭāḥ śaṅkhān pradadhmur hatam īkṣya śalyam ||
Sañjaya said: When that foremost of great bowmen, Śalya, had been slain in the midst of the battle by the bull among the Kurus, the Pārthas—gathered together and filled with supreme joy—blew their conches on seeing Śalya fallen. The verse underscores the war’s harsh moral tension: even a righteous victory is marked by exultation over death, revealing how triumph and grief coexist on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical complexity of dharma-yuddha: even when a just cause prevails, the immediate human response can be jubilant at an enemy’s fall. It invites reflection on how duty-driven warfare still carries moral and emotional costs.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra battle, Śalya—renowned as a great archer—has been killed (contextually by Yudhiṣṭhira). The Pāṇḍavas, gathering together in elation, blow their conches upon seeing Śalya slain.