Shloka 3
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
साधुवादो महाउ्जज्ञे सिद्धाश्चासन् प्रहर्षिता: । आश्षर्यमित्यभाषन्त मुनयश्लञापि सड्रता:,अकेले शल्यको अनेक महारथियोंद्वारा पीड़ित होते देख उनको सब ओरसे महान् साधुवाद प्राप्त होने लगा। वहाँ एकत्र हुए सिद्ध और महर्षि भी हर्षमें भरकर बोल उठे --आश्चर्य है!
sādhuvādo mahaujajñe siddhāś cāsan praharṣitāḥ | āścaryam ity abhāṣanta munayaś cāpi saṅgatāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Habang si Śalya ay nakatindig na nag-iisa, ginigiit at sinusugatan ng maraming dakilang mandirigmang nakasakay sa karwahe, sumiklab mula sa lahat ng panig ang isang makapangyarihang koro ng papuri. Ang mga Siddha at mga pantas na nagkatipon, puspos ng pananabik, ay sumigaw: “Kay hiwaga!”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary valor and steadfastness in one’s appointed duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can draw public acclaim—even amid the harshness of war—while also reminding the reader that such praise is a reaction of onlookers, not necessarily a final moral verdict on the conflict itself.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya, though isolated and pressed by many great warriors, becomes the focus of widespread applause; celestial Siddhas and gathered sages, delighted, exclaim “āścaryam” (“How wondrous!”) at the spectacle of his prowess.