Mahabharata 9.13.40 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 40
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
पाण्डुके बड़े भाई महाराज धुृतराष्ट्र! तदनन्तर रथ, हाथी और घोड़ोंसहित समस्त पाण्डवयोद्धा मद्रराज शल्यको सब ओरसे पीड़ा देते हुए उनपर चढ़ आये ।।
Sañjaya uvāca: tadanantaraṁ ratha-hasti-aśva-sahitaḥ samastaḥ pāṇḍava-yoddha-gaṇaḥ madrarājaṁ śalyaṁ sarvataḥ pīḍayan tam abhyapatat. nānā-śastraugha-bahulāṁ śastra-vṛṣṭiṁ samudyatām vyadhamat samare rājā mahā-bhrāṇīva mārutaḥ.
त्यानंतर, पांडूचे ज्येष्ठ बंधू महाराज धृतराष्ट्र, रथ-हत्ती-घोड्यांसह सर्व पांडव योद्धे मद्रराज शल्यावर चारही बाजूंनी दबाव टाकीत धावून गेले। समरात राजाने विविध शस्त्रांनी दाट झालेली, उफाळून आलेली शस्त्रवृष्टी अशी उधळून लावली की जणू प्रचंड वारा मेघसमूह उडवून देतो।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness under pressure: even when surrounded and assailed from all sides, a warrior-leader is expected to maintain composure and skill, meeting force with disciplined resistance rather than panic.
All the Pāṇḍava forces—chariots, elephants, and cavalry—surge toward Śalya and harry him from every direction. Śalya responds by dispersing the oncoming ‘rain’ of weapons, compared to a strong wind scattering a bank of clouds.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.