Shloka 486

शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12

Devanagari script

मर्माण्युद्दिश्य मर्मज्ञो निचखान हसन्निव । महाराज! मर्मज्ञ कुन्तीकुमारने शल्यके मर्मस्थानोंको लक्ष्य करके हँसते हुए-से चौदह नाराच चलाये और उनके अंगोंमें धँसा दिये

Transliteration

marmāṇy uddiśya marmajño nicakhāna hasann iva | mahārāja! marmajñaḥ kuntīkumarena śalyake marmasthānāni lakṣya kṛtvā hasann iva caturdaśa nārācāḥ prayuktāḥ, te ca tasya aṅgeṣu dhāritāḥ ||

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు—మహారాజా! మర్మస్థానాల జ్ఞానం కలిగిన కుంతీపుత్రుడు శల్యుని మర్మస్థానాలను లక్ష్యంగా చేసుకొని, నవ్వుతున్నట్టుగా, పద్నాలుగు నారాచాలను విడిచాడు; అవి అతని అవయవాలలో లోతుగా దూరాయి.

Word by Word

मर्माणिvital parts, vulnerable points

उद्दिश्यhaving aimed at

मर्मज्ञःknower of vital points

निचखानhe struck/pierced (as if dug in)

हसन्laughing

इवas if, like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Kuntīkumāra (son of Kuntī)

Śalya

nārāca (iron arrows)

marma (vital points)

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 grim precision of war: knowledge and skill can be used to strike decisively at another’s vulnerabilities. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the unsettling reality that victory often depends on exploiting ‘marmas’—the most fragile points of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the son of Kuntī, expert in targeting vital points, aims at Śalya’s critical spots and shoots fourteen iron arrows, which embed in Śalya’s body.