राजानं पाण्डवश्रेष्ठं धर्मात्मानं युधिष्ठिरम् ॥
वेलेव सागरं क्षुब्धं मद्रराट् समवारयत् ॥
तं धर्मराजो बहुभिर् मर्मभिद्भिर् अवाकिरत् ॥
मद्रेशस् तं चतुःषष्ट्या शरैर् विद्ध्वानदद् भृशम् ॥
तस्य नानदतः केतुम् उच्चकर्त सकार्मुकम् ॥
क्षुराभ्यां पाण्डवश्रेष्ठस् तत उच्चुक्रुशुर् जनाः ॥
rājānaṃ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭhaṃ dharmātmānaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram ||
veleva sāgaraṃ kṣubdhaṃ madrarāṭ samavārayat ||
taṃ dharmarājo bahubhir marmabhidbhir avākirat ||
madreśas taṃ catuḥṣaṣṭyā śarair viddhvānadad bhṛśam ||
tasya nānadataḥ ketum uccakarta sakārmukam ||
kṣurābhyāṃ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭhas tata uccukruśur janāḥ ||
The righteous king, best of the Pandavas, Yudhishthira, the king of the Madras, Shalya, checked as a shore checks the reared-up ocean. Him the King of Dharma showered with many arrows striking the vital points; the lord of the Madras, having wounded him with sixty-four arrows, bellowed with all his might. At him, still roaring, the best of the Pandavas felled the banner together with the bow with two razor-arrows; and then the people cried out in joy.
cc3c5170dff8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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Shalya checks Yudhishthira "as a shore checks the reared-up ocean": an image in which the righteous king's wrath is the might of an elemental force, and to restrain it a feat of firmness. But the King of Dharma, ordinarily gentle, here shows also his warrior's valor: he fells the banner and bow of his roaring opponent. It is telling that the people rejoice -- glad to them is the sight of a gentle sovereign standing up for himself. This teaches that even a man of dharma, peaceable by nature, is in his hour capable of a formidable rebuff; that gentleness is not weakness, and the righteous man, driven to battle, fights valiantly; and that a premature cry of triumph, as Shalya's here, again turns to disgrace -- for he boasts of victory who has not yet won.