Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 43
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
भरतश्रेष्ठी] विजयसे उललसित होनेवाले पाण्डवोंने अपने बाणोंकी मारसे आपकी सेनाको बारंबार घायल किया ।।
vadhyamānā camūḥ sā tu putrāṇāṃ prekṣatāṃ tava | bheje diśo mahārāja praṇunnā śaravarṣṭibhiḥ ||
مہاراج! تمہارے بیٹوں کے دیکھتے دیکھتے وہ لشکر پانڈوؤں کی تیروں کی بوچھاڑ سے بار بار دبایا گیا؛ کٹتا، پھٹتا اور زخمی و چاک چوبند ہوتا ہوا سب سمتوں میں بکھر کر بھاگ نکلا۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of power in war: when an army loses cohesion under sustained assault, it collapses regardless of numbers. Ethically, it presses the ruler to face the consequences of decisions that place one’s own people—seen here by the sons themselves—into catastrophic violence.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the army, struck down by intense arrow-showers, is being routed. As the king’s sons watch, the host breaks and runs in all directions, indicating a decisive moment of panic and dispersal on the battlefield.