Shloka 41
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
जैसे वायु बड़े-बड़े बादलोंको उड़ा देती है, उसी प्रकार समरांगणमें राजा शल्यने अनेक प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंसे परिपूर्ण उस उमड़ी हुई शस्त्रवर्षाको छिन्न-भिन्न कर डाला ।। ततः कनकपुड्खां तां शल्यक्षिप्तां वियद्गताम् । शरवृष्टिमपश्याम शलभानामिवायतिम्,तत्पश्चात् शल्यके चलाये हुए सुनहरे पंखवाले बाणोंकी वर्षा आकाशमें टिड्डीदलोंके समान छा गयी, जिसे हमने अपनी आँखों देखा था
tataḥ kanakapunkhāṃ tāṃ śalyakṣiptāṃ viyadgatām | śaravṛṣṭim apaśyāma śalabhānām ivāyatim ||
Disse Sañjaya: Depois vimos a chuva de flechas—de penas douradas e arremessadas pelo rei Śalya—subir ao céu e espalhar-se como um vasto enxame de gafanhotos a cobrir o firmamento.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming, almost natural-force quality of warfare: skill and power can shatter resistance the way wind scatters clouds. Ethically, it reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between kshatriya duty (display of valor) and the dehumanizing momentum of mass violence.
Sanjaya reports that Śalya releases a dense volley of golden-feathered arrows that fills the sky like a swarm of locusts—an image emphasizing the scale and intensity of the missile exchange on the battlefield.