Mahabharata 3.21.7 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 7
Dvārakā’s Distress and the Saubha Engagement (द्वारकाव्यग्रता तथा सौभयुद्धम्)
न तस्योरसि नो मूर्थ्नि न काये न भुजद्धये । अन्तरं पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ पश्याम्यनिचितं शरै:
na tasyorasi no mūrdhni na kāye na bhujadvaye | antaraṃ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭha paśyāmyanicitaṃ śaraiḥ ||
风神婆由说道：“般度诸子中最卓越者啊，我看不见他胸前、头顶、全身或双臂上有任何一处空隙不被箭矢贯穿。正如富含赤色矿砂的山岳，一旦被雨云浇灌，便倾泻出殷红的水流；他亦如是——四肢被箭杆穿透成孔——放出骇人的血之洪流。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark reality of bodily vulnerability in conflict: even the strongest warrior’s body can be utterly overwhelmed. By stressing the total absence of an unpierced spot, it evokes the ethical gravity of violence and the transience of physical power, prompting reflection on restraint, duty, and the human cost of warfare.
Vāyu describes to the foremost Pāṇḍava a warrior whose chest, head, body, and arms are so densely struck that no space remains untouched by arrows. The scene is intensified through a simile: like a mineral-rich mountain releasing red streams under rain, the arrow-riddled body pours out terrifying flows of blood.
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