Shloka 50

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

सा तस्य मर्माणि विदार्य शुभ्र- मुरो विशालं च तथैव भित्त्वा विवेश गां तोयमिवाप्रसक्ता यशो विशाल नृपतेर्दहन्ती

Transliteration

sā tasya marmāṇi vidārya śubhraṃ uro viśālaṃ ca tathaiva bhittvā viveśa gāṃ toyam ivāprasaktā yaśo viśālaṃ nṛpater dahantī |

Translation

சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்— அந்த ஒளிமிகு சக்தி சல்யனின் மర్మங்களைப் பிளந்து, அவன் பரந்த ஒளிரும் மார்பையும் கிழித்து, தடையற்ற நீர் போல மண்ணுக்குள் புகுந்தது; அரசனின் விரிந்த புகழையும் எரித்துக்கொண்டே சென்றது. அதன் வேகம் எங்கும் தடைபடவில்லை।

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'sā', 'definition': 'she/that (here: that spear/śakti, feminine)'}, {'term': 'tasya', 'definition': 'of him (of Śalya)'}, {'term': 'marmāṇi', 'definition': 'vital spots

• vulnerable points of the body'}, {'term': 'vidārya', 'definition': 'having torn open

• rending'}, {'term': 'śubhram', 'definition': 'bright, white, shining'}, {'term': 'uraḥ', 'definition': 'chest, breast'}, {'term': 'viśālam', 'definition': 'broad, vast'}, {'term': 'bhittvā', 'definition': 'having split/cleft

• piercing through'}, {'term': 'viveśa', 'definition': 'entered

• sank into'}, {'term': 'gām', 'definition': 'the earth, ground'}, {'term': 'toyam', 'definition': 'water'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as'}, {'term': 'aprasaktā', 'definition': 'unimpeded

• not hindered/checked'}, {'term': 'yaśaḥ', 'definition': 'fame, glory, renown'}, {'term': 'nṛpateḥ', 'definition': 'of the king'}, {'term': 'dahantī', 'definition': 'burning

• consuming (metaphorically: destroying reputation/glory)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• śakti (spear/weapon)
• earth (gāṃ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly glory (yaśas) in the face of inevitable death in war: even a mighty king’s renown can be ‘burned’ in an instant. It also reflects the epic’s ethical tension—kṣatriya duty drives combat, yet the cost is the swift undoing of life and reputation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a spear (śakti) striking Śalya: it tears through his vital points and chest and then, still unimpeded, sinks into the earth like flowing water—signifying the decisive, unstoppable force of the blow and the fall of the king’s greatness.