Shloka 49
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
Devanagari script
आवार्य पाण्डवं बाणैहन्तुकामो महाबल:
Transliteration
āvārya pāṇḍavaṃ bāṇair hantukāmo mahābalaḥ
Translation
桑阇耶说道：他以箭雨遏住那位般度之子，并且——怀着必杀之心——以巨力逼近。此句凸显战争阴沉的推进：武力由蓄意毁灭的意志所驱使，昭示当战场上克制崩塌之时，“欲望/决意（kāma/saṅkalpa）”便成为行动的发动机。
Word by Word
आवार्यhaving warded off / having checked
आवार्य:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootआ√वृ (वृञ्) / आवार्य (क्त्वान्त कृदन्त)
Formक्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (अव्ययभावे), कर्तरि, पूर्वकाल (absolutive)
पाण्डवम्the Pandava (Arjuna/Pandava warrior)
पाण्डवम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootपाण्डव
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
बाणैःwith arrows
बाणैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootबाण
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
हन्तुकामःdesiring to kill
हन्तुकामः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootहन्तु-काम (काम)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
महाबलःmighty/very strong
महाबलः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमहाबल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)प
पाण्डव (a Pāṇḍava warrior)ब
बाण (arrows)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
The verse highlights that in war, actions are propelled not only by capability (mahābala) but by intention (hantukāma). Ethically, it draws attention to the inner motive behind violence—how a resolved desire to kill turns strength and skill into instruments of destruction.
Sañjaya reports that a powerful warrior halts a Pāṇḍava’s advance by striking or hemming him in with arrows, doing so with the explicit aim of killing him, indicating an intense close phase of combat.