Shloka 59

शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12

Devanagari script

शल्य: सायकवर्षेण पर्जन्य इव वृष्टिमान्‌

Transliteration

śalyaḥ sāyakavarṣeṇa parjanya iva vṛṣṭimān

Translation

三阇耶说道：沙利耶倾泻箭雨，宛如降雨之云帕尔迦尼亚在暴雨倾盆之时——此喻彰显：在战斗的狂怒中，武勇之势可如自然之力般汹涌、压倒一切而又不偏不倚。

Word by Word

• शल्यः: Shalya
• शल्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सायकवर्षेण: with a shower of arrows
• सायकवर्षेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायकवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• पर्जन्यः: a rain-cloud (Parjanya)
• पर्जन्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्जन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• वृष्टिमान्: rainy, possessing rain; raining
• वृष्टिमान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृष्टिमत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Parjanya
• arrows (sāyaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the violence and intensity of war can be portrayed through natural metaphors: a warrior’s arrow-storm becomes like rain. Ethically, it suggests the battlefield’s momentum can feel as inexorable as nature—prompting reflection on the human cost when skill is directed toward destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Śalya in combat, releasing such a dense barrage of arrows that it resembles a heavy rainfall, likening him to Parjanya, the rain-bringer.