Mahabharata 9.13.463 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 463

Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation

Devanagari script

धर्मराजमवच्छाद्य सिंहवद्‌ व्यनदन्मुहु: । मान्यवर! विजयके लिये प्रयत्न करनेवाले उन समस्त योद्धाओंको सब ओरसे बाणोंद्वारा आच्छादित करके शल्य धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको भी ढककर बारंबार सिंहके समान गर्जना करने लगे

Transliteration

dharmarājam avacchādya siṁhavad vyanadan muhuḥ |

Translation

ਸੰਜਯ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਵਿਜੈ ਲਈ ਜਤਨ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਯੋਧਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ ਸ਼ਲ੍ਯ ਨੇ ਚਾਰੋਂ ਪਾਸਿਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਤੀਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਖਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਧਰਮਰਾਜ ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ ਨੂੰ ਢੱਕ ਲਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਮੁੜ ਮੁੜ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਾਂਗ ਗੱਜਣ ਲੱਗ ਪਿਆ।

Word by Word

• धर्मराजम्: Dharmaraja (Yudhiṣṭhira) (as object)
• धर्मराजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अवच्छाद्य: having covered/veiled
• अवच्छाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-छद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• सिंहवत्: like a lion
• सिंहवत्: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सिंहवत्
• Form: true

• व्यनदन्: they roared
• व्यनदन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नद्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मुहुः: again and again; repeatedly
• मुहुः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः
• Form: true

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Śalya
• warriors (yoddhāḥ)
• arrows (bāṇāḥ)
• lion (siṁha, as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even Dharmarāja, emblem of righteousness, can be outwardly overwhelmed in war; the passage highlights the tension between dharma (moral order) and the brutal momentum of victory-seeking combat, reminding readers that ethical stature does not guarantee immunity from violence or adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Śalya surrounding and ‘covering’ Yudhiṣṭhira with volleys of arrows; after pressing the attack, Śalya repeatedly roars like a lion, signaling dominance and intensifying the battlefield’s terror and urgency.