Shloka 26
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements
तयोस्तत्र शितैमुक्तिर्यमदण्डनि भै: शरै: । समाच्छन्ना धरा सर्वा खं दिशो विदिशस्तथा,उन दोनोंके छोड़े हुए यमदण्डके समान तीखे बाणोंसे सारी पृथ्वी, आकाश, दिशाएँ और विदिशाएँ आच्छादित हो गयीं इति श्रीमहाभारते शल्यपर्वणि एकादशधार्तराष्ट्रवधे षड्विंशो5ध्याय:
sañjaya uvāca |
tayostatra śitair muktir yamadaṇḍanibhaiḥ śaraiḥ |
samācchannā dharā sarvā khaṃ diśo vidiśas tathā ||
สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ณ ที่นั้น ฝนศรอันคมกริบซึ่งทั้งสองปล่อยออกมา ดุจคทาทัณฑ์แห่งยมราช ได้ปกคลุมไปทั่ว จนแผ่นดิน ฟากฟ้า ทิศทั้งปวงและทิศระหว่างทิศล้วนถูกคลุมไว้
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impersonality of death in battle: when conflict escalates, destruction spreads beyond individual intent, appearing like Yama’s inexorable law. It implicitly warns that unchecked martial fury eclipses the world itself—earth, sky, and all directions—suggesting the ethical gravity of war and its all-consuming consequences.
Sañjaya describes an intense exchange between two warriors (implied by 'those two'): their sharp arrows, compared to Yama’s punitive staff, fly in such numbers that they seem to blanket the battlefield and even the very space around it—earth, sky, and every quarter.