Shloka 46
शितै: पृषत्कैर्विददार वेगै- महेन्द्रवज़ञप्रतिमै: सुघोरै: । राजाओंमें श्रेष्ठ शाल्व उस गजराजपर बैठकर प्रातःकाल उदयाचलपर स्थित हुए सूर्यदेवके समान सुशोभित होने लगा। महाराज! वह उस श्रेष्ठ हाथीके द्वारा वहाँ एकत्र हुए समस्त पाण्डवोंपर चढ़ आया और इन्द्रके वज्रकी भाँति अत्यन्त भयंकर तीखे बाणोंसे उन सबको वेगपूर्वक विदीर्ण करने लगा
sañjaya uvāca | śitaiḥ pṛṣatkaiḥ vidadāra vegaiḥ mahendra-vajra-pratimaiḥ sughoraiḥ | rājñāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ śālvaḥ sa gajarājaṃ samāruhya prātaḥkāle udayācala-sthita iva sūryaḥ suśobhitavān | mahārāja! sa tena śreṣṭha-hastinā tatra samāgatān sarvān pāṇḍavān abhyāpatat, indra-vajra-vad atyanta-bhayaṅkaraiḥ tīkṣṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ tān sarvān vegapūrvakaṃ vidadāra |
Sañjaya disse: “Com flechas velozes e cortantes—terríveis, comparáveis ao vajra de Indra—ele os rasgava. Śālva, o mais eminente entre os reis, montado naquele elefante senhorial, resplandecia como o sol da manhã sobre a montanha do Oriente. Ó Rei, levado por esse excelente elefante, investiu contra todos os Pāṇḍavas ali reunidos e, como o raio de Indra, dilacerou-os com violência por meio de flechas agudíssimas e pavorosas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as battle narration, but it implicitly highlights how martial glory (sun-like splendor, thunderbolt-like weapons) coexists with the grim reality of harm. It invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence even when framed as kshatriya prowess.
Sanjaya describes King Shalva, mounted on a powerful war-elephant, charging the assembled Pandavas and piercing them rapidly with sharp arrows likened to Indra’s thunderbolt, while his appearance is compared to the rising sun on the eastern mountain.