Shloka 5
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
अयोधयन्त समरे परिवार्य महारथा: । समरांगणमें द्रोणपुत्रको आगे करके कौरव महारथी अर्जुनको रथसमूहसे घेरकर उनके साथ युद्ध करने लगे ।। तैस्तु क्षिप्ता: शरा राजन् कार्तस्वरविभूषिता:
sañjaya uvāca |
ayodhayanta samare parivārya mahārathāḥ |
samarāṅgaṇe droṇaputraṃ agre kṛtvā kauravā mahārathino 'rjunaṃ rathasamūhena gherayitvā tena saha yuddham akurvan ||
tais tu kṣiptāḥ śarā rājan kārtasvaravibhūṣitāḥ |
Sanjaya berkata: Para maharatha bertempur di medan perang, mengepungnya dari segala arah. Di gelanggang pertempuran, para juara Kaurava, dengan meletakkan putera Droṇa di barisan hadapan, merapatkan kepungan ke atas Arjuna dengan himpunan kereta perang lalu beradu senjata dengannya. Kemudian, wahai Raja, anak-anak panah yang mereka lepaskan—berhias emas—meluncur deras, menambah himpitan perang dan bahaya yang menimpa sasaran tunggal dalam kepungan itu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare amplifies through collective strategy—many elite warriors coordinating to isolate a single opponent. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between martial skill and the moral weight of escalating violence: tactical success can come through concentration of force, yet it also intensifies harm and tests the boundaries of kṣatriya conduct.
Sanjaya reports that the Kaurava great chariot-warriors, with Aśvatthāmā placed at the front, surround Arjuna with a formation of chariots and attack him. They shower him with arrows, described as gold-adorned, emphasizing both the ferocity and the martial splendor of the assault.