Shloka 24

शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12

Devanagari script

युगपत पेततुर्वीरावुभाविन्द्रध्वजाविव । उभयो: सेनयोर्वीरास्तदा हाहाकृतो&$भवन्‌

Transliteration

yugapat petatur vīrāv ubhāv indradhvajāv iva | ubhayoḥ senayor vīrās tadā hāhākṛto 'bhavan |

Translation

അന്നേ നിമിഷം ആ രണ്ടു വീരന്മാരും ഒരുമിച്ച് വീണു; ഇന്ദ്രധ്വജത്തിന്റെ രണ്ടു തൂണുകൾ തകർന്നുവീണതുപോലെ. അപ്പോൾ ഇരുസേനകളിലെയും വീരന്മാർ ‘ഹാ ഹാ’ എന്നു വിലപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

युगपत्simultaneously

पेततुःfell

वीरौtwo heroes

उभौboth

इन्द्रध्वजौtwo Indra-banners (banner-poles of Indra)

इवlike/as

उभयोःof both

सेनयोःof (the two) armies

वीराःheroes/warriors

तदाthen

हाहाकृतःuttering cries of 'hā hā' / lamenting

अभवन्became/were

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two heroes (unnamed in this verse)

two armies (Pāṇḍava and Kaurava forces, implied)

Indra-dhvaja (Indra’s banner/standard)

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 underscores the fragility of martial glory: even the mightiest heroes can fall in an instant, and their fall evokes grief on both sides, revealing a shared human cost that transcends factional victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that two prominent warriors fall at the same time, compared to two lofty Indra-banners collapsing; witnessing this, fighters from both armies cry out in lamentation.