Shloka 34
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
स च्छिन्न: पतितो भूमौ पार्थबाणैर्महाहवे । दारयन् पृथिवीन्द्राणां मनांसीव च भारत,भारत! उस महासमरमें पार्थके बाणोंसे कटकर वह परिघ राजाओंके हृदयोंको विदीर्ण करता हुआ-सा पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा
sa cchinnaḥ patito bhūmau pārthabāṇair mahāhave | dārayan pṛthivīndrāṇāṃ manāṃsīva ca bhārata ||
భారతా! ఆ మహాసమరంలో పార్ధుని బాణాలతో ఛిన్నమై ఆ పరిఘం భూమిపై పడెను, రాజుల హృదయాలను చీల్చినట్లు.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological dimension of warfare: a warrior’s decisive action can shatter not only an opponent’s weapon but also the confidence of many onlookers. It points to how fear and resolve (manas) are pivotal forces in dharmic conflict, where courage and steadiness are continually tested.
During the great battle, Arjuna’s arrows cut and break a parigha (a heavy iron club-like weapon). It falls to the earth, and the poet compares this fall to the tearing of the hearts of kings—suggesting widespread alarm and a collapse of morale among the royal warriors witnessing the event.