Shloka 74
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
समाहतो महाराज कालिड्लेन महात्मना । संचुक्रुशे भृशं भीमो दण्डाहत इवोरग:
samāhato mahārāja kāliṅgena mahātmanā | sañcukruśe bhṛśaṃ bhīmo daṇḍāhata ivoragaḥ ||
মহারাজ! মহাত্মা কলিঙ্গৰাজৰ আঘাতত আহত ভীম দণ্ডাঘাতে আঘাতপ্ৰাপ্ত সাপৰ দৰে ভীষণকৈ চিঞৰি উঠিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth within the war narrative: injury and humiliation can inflame anger, and unchecked wrath becomes perilous—like a provoked serpent—suggesting the ethical need for restraint even in a kṣatriya context.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma has been struck by the Kaliṅga ruler/warrior; Bhīma cries out fiercely, compared to a serpent hit with a staff, indicating both pain and rising fury on the battlefield.