Shloka 343
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
शरै: संछादयामास समन्तात् पाण्डुनन्दनम् | तब सत्यसेनने शत्रुका वेग नष्ट करनेवाले दूसरे भारसाधक धनुषको हाथमें लेकर अपने बाणोंद्वारा पाण्डुनन्दन नकुलको ढक दिया
śaraiḥ sañchādayāmāsa samantāt pāṇḍunandanam |
सञ्जय उवाच—शरैः समन्तात् पाण्डुनन्दनं संछादयामास। ततः सत्यसेनः शत्रुवेगविघातकं भारसाधकं धनुरन्यत् करगृहीत्वा स्वशरवृष्ट्या पाण्डुनन्दनं नकुलं सर्वतः प्रच्छादयामास।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic where resolve, skill, and tactical pressure (breaking the opponent’s momentum) are central; it portrays how war rewards disciplined force rather than hesitation, while reminding the listener that such prowess operates within the grim moral landscape of Kurukṣetra.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior (identified in the accompanying gloss as Satyasena) unleashes a dense volley of arrows, surrounding and effectively ‘covering’ the Pāṇḍava Nakula from all directions, intensifying the duel and pressing the Pāṇḍava line.