Shloka 34
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
मद्रराजरथं प्राप्तं मृत्योरास्यगतं यथा । अभ्यपद्यत संग्रामे युधिष्ठिरममित्रजित्,तब शत्रुविजयी महाबाहु भीमसेन समरभूमिमें राजा युधिष्छिरको मृत्युके मुखमें पड़े हुएके समान मद्रराजके रथके समीप पहुँचा हुआ देखकर युद्धके लिये वहाँ आ पहुँचे
madra-rāja-rathaṁ prāptaṁ mṛtyor āsyagataṁ yathā | abhyapadyata saṅgrāme yudhiṣṭhiram amitrajit ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als er König Yudhiṣṭhira sah—der bis in die Reichweite des Streitwagens des Madra-Königs gelangt war—gleich einem, der in den Rachen des Todes selbst eingetreten ist, stürmte Bhīmasena, der Bezwinger der Feinde, auf dem Schlachtfeld vor, um den Kampf aufzunehmen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in crisis: when a righteous leader is exposed to grave danger, a warrior’s duty includes swift protective action. It also frames battlefield risk in ethical terms—Yudhiṣṭhira’s peril is not merely tactical but a threat to the moral center of the Pāṇḍava cause.
Yudhiṣṭhira has approached the Madra king Śalya’s chariot, a highly dangerous position likened to entering Death’s mouth. Seeing this, Bhīma—described as a conqueror of foes—rushes forward in the battle to confront the threat and defend his brother.