Shloka 20
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
अथाश्येत्य पदान्यष्टौ संनिपातो5भवत् तयो: । उद्यम्य लोहदण्डाभ्यामतिमानुषकर्मणो:
athāśyetya padāny aṣṭau saṃnipāto 'bhavat tayoḥ | udyamya lohadaṇḍābhyām atimānuṣakarmaṇoḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。やがて二人は互いに八歩進み寄り、間合いを詰めて相対した。鉄の棍棒を高く掲げ、超人的な武勇を備えたその両雄は打ち合いを始め、まさにその時、恐るべき近接の死闘が二人の間に起こった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly battle can intensify into brutal hand-to-hand violence when opponents close distance and abandon restraint; it implicitly warns that pride and wrath can eclipse discernment, even among mighty warriors.
Two warriors advance eight steps toward each other, come into close contact, raise iron clubs, and begin striking one another; Sañjaya emphasizes the terrifying, superhuman nature of their clash.