Shloka 8
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
भीमसेनने हाथमें गदा लेकर राजा दुर्योधनको रोका और सेनासहित कदुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरने शल्यको ।।
sañjaya uvāca | bhīmasenena hastaṁ gādāṁ gṛhītvā rājānaṁ duryodhanaṁ rurodha, senāsahitaś ca kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ śalyaṁ | tataḥ samabhavat sainyaṁ saṁsaktaṁ tatra tatra ha, tāvakānāṁ pareṣāṁ ca saṅgrāmeṣv anivartinām ||
三阇耶说道：毗摩塞那执棒在手，拦住了都利约陀那王；而昆蒂之子坚战在军队护持下，也牵制住了沙利耶。于是两军——你方与敌方——皆不肯在战阵中背身退却，便在各处纠缠厮杀，凡相遇之处，皆成鏖战。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kshatriya ideal of steadfastness in battle—warriors who do not retreat—while implicitly reminding the listener that such valor operates within the larger moral tragedy of the Kurukshetra war, where duty, loyalty, and consequence collide.
Bhima blocks Duryodhana with mace in hand, and Yudhishthira, supported by his troops, checks Shalya. As these key confrontations form, the wider armies on both sides become interlocked in scattered, intense engagements across the battlefield.