Shloka 48
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तेषां प्रद्रवतां भीम: पज्चालानामितस्तत:
teṣāṁ pradravatāṁ bhīmaḥ pāñcālānām itas tataḥ
قال سانجيا: ولما فرّ البانچالَة في اضطراب، كان بهيما يتحرك بينهم ذهابًا وإيابًا، يدفع الهزيمة ويزيد هلع التراجع—صورةٌ تُبيّن كيف أن الخوف في الحرب، إذا انكسر النظام، يمكن أن ينتشر في صفوف الجيش كله.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a practical ethical insight of the epic’s war narrative: once discipline collapses, fear multiplies and a retreat can become a rout; therefore leaders and warriors must preserve steadiness and order, since panic harms not only the individual but the whole host.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāñcālas are fleeing, and Bhīma is moving “here and there” among them—suggesting vigorous pursuit and battlefield pressure during a moment of disarray.