Shloka 486
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
मर्माण्युद्दिश्य मर्मज्ञो निचखान हसन्निव । महाराज! मर्मज्ञ कुन्तीकुमारने शल्यके मर्मस्थानोंको लक्ष्य करके हँसते हुए-से चौदह नाराच चलाये और उनके अंगोंमें धँसा दिये
marmāṇy uddiśya marmajño nicakhāna hasann iva | mahārāja! marmajñaḥ kuntīkumarena śalyake marmasthānāni lakṣya kṛtvā hasann iva caturdaśa nārācāḥ prayuktāḥ, te ca tasya aṅgeṣu dhāritāḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、急所を知る者は、その急所を狙って、まるで微笑むかのように打ち込んだ。クンティーの子はマルマ（急所）の理に通じ、シャリヤの急所を的として、静かな笑みを浮かべるがごとく十四本の鉄矢（ナラーチャ）を放ち、それらをその四肢に深く突き立てた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim precision of war: knowledge and skill can be used to strike decisively at another’s vulnerabilities. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the unsettling reality that victory often depends on exploiting ‘marmas’—the most fragile points of life.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the son of Kuntī, expert in targeting vital points, aims at Śalya’s critical spots and shoots fourteen iron arrows, which embed in Śalya’s body.