Mahabharata 3.21.7 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 7
Dvārakā’s Distress and the Saubha Engagement (द्वारकाव्यग्रता तथा सौभयुद्धम्)
न तस्योरसि नो मूर्थ्नि न काये न भुजद्धये । अन्तरं पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ पश्याम्यनिचितं शरै:
na tasyorasi no mūrdhni na kāye na bhujadvaye | antaraṃ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭha paśyāmyanicitaṃ śaraiḥ ||
Vāyu berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik antara para Pāṇḍava, aku tidak melihat sedikit pun ruang—di dadanya, di kepalanya, pada tubuhnya, atau pada kedua lengannya—yang tidak ditembusi anak panah. Seperti gunung yang kaya dengan galian merah, apabila disiram hujan dari awan lalu mengalirkan arus merah pekat, demikianlah dia—anggota tubuhnya berlubang oleh batang-batang panah—melepaskan limpahan darah yang menggerunkan.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark reality of bodily vulnerability in conflict: even the strongest warrior’s body can be utterly overwhelmed. By stressing the total absence of an unpierced spot, it evokes the ethical gravity of violence and the transience of physical power, prompting reflection on restraint, duty, and the human cost of warfare.
Vāyu describes to the foremost Pāṇḍava a warrior whose chest, head, body, and arms are so densely struck that no space remains untouched by arrows. The scene is intensified through a simile: like a mineral-rich mountain releasing red streams under rain, the arrow-riddled body pours out terrifying flows of blood.
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