Shloka 1
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
अकाल पञ्चदशो<् ध्याय: दुर्योधन और धृष्टद्युम्नका एवं अर्जुन और अभश्व॒त्थामाका तथा शल्यके साथ नकुल और सात्यकि आदिका घोर सग्राम संजय उवाच दुर्योधनो महाराज धृष्टय्युम्नश्न पार्षत: । चक्रतुः सुमहद् युद्ध शरशक्तिसमाकुलम्
sañjaya uvāca | duryodhano mahārāja dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ | cakratuḥ sumahad yuddhaṃ śaraśaktisamākulam ||
三阇耶说道：大王啊，杜尤陀那与帕尔沙塔之子（德鲁帕达之子）持军——德里什塔丢姆那——展开了一场极其宏大的战斗，箭矢与长枪交织其间。此偈将战争描绘为诸将领之间压倒一切的冲撞：私怨与王权野心驱使暴烈之势吞没万物，考验着见证者与参战者的道德坚忍。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war, once unleashed by ambition and enmity, becomes a consuming force—"crowded with arrows and spears"—that overwhelms individuals and tests dharma. It implicitly warns that leadership choices can intensify collective suffering, even when framed as kṣatriya duty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana and Dhṛṣṭadyumna have entered into a fierce, large-scale duel or engagement, characterized by heavy missile warfare (arrows and spears), signaling the intensity of the fighting in this phase of the Shalya Parva.