Shloka 1
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
अकाल पञ्चदशो<् ध्याय: दुर्योधन और धृष्टद्युम्नका एवं अर्जुन और अभश्व॒त्थामाका तथा शल्यके साथ नकुल और सात्यकि आदिका घोर सग्राम संजय उवाच दुर्योधनो महाराज धृष्टय्युम्नश्न पार्षत: । चक्रतुः सुमहद् युद्ध शरशक्तिसमाकुलम्
sañjaya uvāca | duryodhano mahārāja dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ | cakratuḥ sumahad yuddhaṃ śaraśaktisamākulam ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, Duryodhana dan Dhṛṣṭadyumna, putera Pārṣata (Drupada), bertempur dalam peperangan yang amat besar—sesak dengan anak panah dan lembing. Rangkap ini menggambarkan perang sebagai pertembungan yang mengatasi segala-galanya antara para pemimpin, ketika perseteruan peribadi dan cita-cita diraja menggerakkan keganasan yang menelan semua, menguji ketahanan moral mereka yang menyaksikan dan turut serta.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war, once unleashed by ambition and enmity, becomes a consuming force—"crowded with arrows and spears"—that overwhelms individuals and tests dharma. It implicitly warns that leadership choices can intensify collective suffering, even when framed as kṣatriya duty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana and Dhṛṣṭadyumna have entered into a fierce, large-scale duel or engagement, characterized by heavy missile warfare (arrows and spears), signaling the intensity of the fighting in this phase of the Shalya Parva.