Shloka 13

Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation

Devanagari script

तत: शल्यो महाराज निर्विद्धस्तैर्महारथै:,इति श्रीमहाभारते शल्यपर्वणि शल्ययुद्धे त्रयोदशो5ध्याय:

Transliteration

tataḥ śalyo mahārāja nirviddhastair mahārathaiḥ | iti śrīmahābhārate śalyaparvaṇi śalyayuddhe trayodaśo 'dhyāyaḥ ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「それから、偉大なる王よ、シャリヤはあの大車戦士たちによって貫かれ、打たれた。」かくして『シュリー・マハーバーラタ』「シャリヤ・パルヴァ」における、シャリヤとの戦いを述べる第十三章は終わる――戦は陰惨な転機を迎え、第一の英雄でさえ、集中した武威の前に倒されるのである。

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

शल्यःShalya

महाराजO great king

निर्विद्धःpierced, wounded

तैःby them

महारथैःby the great chariot-warriors

इतिthus

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

शल्यपर्वणिin the Shalya Parva

शल्ययुद्धेin the battle with Shalya / Shalya-battle

त्रयोदशःthirteenth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

श

शल्य (Śalya)

म

महाराज (Mahārāja—Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

म

महामहारथ (mahāratha—great chariot-warriors)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as a closing marker while underscoring a recurring Mahābhārata ethic: in war, even the mightiest are vulnerable when many skilled warriors act in concert; prowess does not guarantee protection from the consequences of conflict, highlighting the tragic cost of adharma-driven escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śalya has been pierced/wounded by great chariot-warriors, and the text then formally concludes the chapter with the traditional colophon identifying the parva and chapter number.