Shloka 3
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
राजा च पार्षतं विद्ध्वा शरै: पञठ्चभिराशुगै: । द्रोणहन्तारमुग्रेषुं पुनर्विव्याध सप्तभि:
rājā ca pārṣataṁ viddhvā śaraiḥ pañcabhir āśugaiḥ | droṇahantāram ugra-eṣuṁ punar vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Raja (Duryodhana), setelah memanah putera Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna) dengan lima anak panah yang pantas, sekali lagi menikam pemanah yang garang itu—pembunuh Droṇa—dengan tujuh anak panah lagi. Adegan ini menegaskan peningkatan keganasan yang tidak mengenal henti dalam perang, apabila permusuhan peribadi dan dorongan untuk menang berulang kali mengatasi segala pengekangan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare intensifies through repeated retaliation: once a foe is struck, the impulse is to strike again and harder. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning that anger, rivalry, and the thirst for victory can eclipse restraint and deepen collective ruin.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana first hits Dhṛṣṭadyumna (called ‘Pārṣata’) with five swift arrows, then wounds him again with seven more. Dhṛṣṭadyumna is identified pointedly as ‘Droṇahantā,’ the killer of Droṇa, marking him as a charged target in the battle.