Mahabharata 9.14.113 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 113
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 |
Sañjaya berkata: Tatkala para askar Kaurava memandangnya dalam keadaan yang luar biasa di medan perang—ditimpa anak panah yang tertera nama Arjuna—mereka pun mula menganggapnya seolah-olah Arjuna sendiri. Melihat demikian, mereka merasakan segala yang di hadapan telah dipenuhi oleh Arjuna semata-mata; rasa takut dan kagum yang menggetarkan menenggelamkan pertimbangan mereka di tengah keganasan perang.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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