Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
पार्थभूतममन्यन्त प्रेक्षमाणास्तथाविधम् | समरभूमिमें अर्जुनके नामसे अंकित बाणोंकी चोट खाते हुए कौरव-सैनिक उन्हें उसी रूपमें देखते हुए सब कुछ अर्जुनमय ही मानने लगे
pārthabhūtam amanyanta prekṣamāṇās tathāvidham | samara-bhūmau ’rjuna-nāmāṅkita-bāṇa-prahāraṁ prāpya kaurava-sainikās taṁ tathā-rūpaṁ paśyantaḥ sarvaṁ arjunamayaṁ evāmanyanta |
サンジャヤは言った。戦場で彼がそのような異様なありさまを示すのを見て、アルジュナの名が刻まれた矢に射抜かれたカウラヴァの兵たちは、彼をまるでアルジュナその人であるかのように見なすようになった。そうして彼らは、眼前のすべてがただアルジュナのみで満ちていると感じ、戦の凄烈さの中で恐怖と畏怖が判断を呑み込んだのである。
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how overwhelming prowess in war can distort perception: fear and repeated impact make opponents see a single heroic agency everywhere. Ethically, it underscores the psychological dimension of kṣatriya-dharma—courage and steadiness are as decisive as weapons, while panic turns the mind into a battlefield of its own.
Sanjaya reports that the Kaurava troops, being struck by arrows bearing Arjuna’s name and witnessing a warrior’s formidable display, begin to think he is Arjuna himself. In their terror and astonishment, they feel the entire scene is ‘Arjuna-filled,’ as if Arjuna’s presence dominates everything on the field.