Shloka 9
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
नृपश्रेष्ठ राजा दुर्योधन शल्यको विधिपूर्वक सेनापति बनाकर मरनेसे बचे हुए राजाओंके साथ युद्धके लिये निकला ।। ततः सुतुमुलं युद्ध कुरुपाण्डवसेनयो: । बभूव भरतश्रेष्ठ देवासुररणोपमम्,भरतश्रेष्ठ] तदनन्तर कौरव-पाण्डव सेनाओंमें घोर युद्ध हुआ, जो देवासुर-संग्रामके समान भयंकर था
tataḥ sutumulaṃ yuddhaṃ kuru-pāṇḍava-senayoḥ | babhūva bharataśreṣṭha devāsura-raṇopamam ||
അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ ഭരതശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, കുരു–പാണ്ഡവ സേനകളിൽ അത്യന്തം തുമുലമായ ഭീകരയുദ്ധം പൊട്ടിപ്പുറപ്പെട്ടു; ദേവാസുരസംഗ്രാമത്തിനെപ്പോലെ ഭയാനകം।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the battle as 'devāsura-raṇa'-like, suggesting that when human conflict is driven by unchecked ambition and hostility, it escalates into a destructive force that overwhelms ordinary moral restraint; it implicitly warns that adharma magnifies violence and its consequences.
After the leadership transition in the Kaurava camp (with Śalya becoming commander in this section’s context), the armies of the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas clash, and the fighting becomes extremely intense—likened to the mythic war between devas and asuras.