Shloka 40

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिरो महेष्वासो मद्रराजानमाहवे । महत्या सेनया गुप्तं पीडयामास संगतम्‌,महाधनुर्धर युधिष्ठिरने विशाल सेनासे सुरक्षित मद्रराज शल्यको उस युद्धमें सामने पाकर बाणोंद्वारा अत्यन्त पीड़ित कर दिया

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhiro maheṣvāso madrarājānam āhave | mahatyā senayā guptaṃ pīḍayāmāsa saṅgatam ||

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Yudhiṣṭhira, o grande arqueiro, ao encontrar no auge da batalha o rei Śalya de Madra—bem protegido por um vasto exército—apertou-o duramente quando se defrontaram, atormentando-o com uma chuva de flechas.

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

महेष्वासःthe great archer (lit. one having a great bow)

मद्रराजानम्the king of Madra (Śalya)

आहवेin battle

महत्याby/with a great

सेनयाarmy

गुप्तम्protected/guarded

पीडयामासtormented, afflicted

संगतम्met/encountered; come into contact (with him)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira

Śalya

Madra (kingdom)

army (senā)

battlefield (āhava)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between personal restraint and kṣatriya-dharma: even a ruler devoted to righteousness must act firmly in a just war, confronting protected and powerful opponents without hesitation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira meets King Śalya of Madra in direct combat; though Śalya is shielded by a large army, Yudhiṣṭhira engages him closely and harasses him intensely with arrows.