Shloka 31
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
राजन्! तब आपके चौदह पुत्रोंने भीमसेनपर धावा किया। उनके नाम ये हैं--सेनापति
rājan! tataḥ tava caturdaśa putrā bhīmasenam abhyadhāvan. teṣāṃ nāmāni—senāpatiḥ, suṣeṇaḥ, jalasaṃdhaḥ, sulocanaḥ, ugraḥ, bhīmarathaḥ, bhīmaḥ, vīrabāhuḥ, alolupaḥ, durmukhaḥ, duṣpradharṣaḥ, vivitsuḥ, vikaṭaḥ, samaḥ—ete sarve krodhāt tāmrekṣaṇā bahubhir bāṇavarṣaiḥ bhīmasenam abhyapatanta, ekībhūya ca tam atyarthaṃ vyathayām āsuḥ. putrāṃs tu tava samprekṣya bhīmaseno mahābalaḥ sṛkkīṇī vilihan vīraḥ paśumadhye yathā vṛkaḥ; mahābalī mahābāhur vīro bhīmasenaḥ garuḍa iva mahāvegāt teṣāṃ sammukham agacchat. tatra prāpya pāṇḍukumaras kṣurapra-nāmnā śareṇa senāpateḥ śiraś ciccheda.
Sañjaya sprach: O König, da stürmten deine vierzehn Söhne auf Bhīmasena los. Ihre Namen waren Senāpati, Suṣeṇa, Jalasaṃdha, Sulocana, Ugra, Bhīmaratha, Bhīma, Vīrabāhu, Alolupa, Durmukha, Duṣpradharṣa, Vivitsu, Vikaṭa und Sama. Alle, mit vor Zorn geröteten Augen, ließen Pfeilschauer niedergehen und begannen, vereint, Bhīmasena schwer zu verwunden. Als Bhīmasena deine Söhne sah, leckte der Gewaltige—wie ein Wolf mitten in der Herde—die Mundwinkel und schoss, schnell wie Garuḍa, geradewegs auf sie zu. Dort angekommen, trennte der Sohn Pāṇḍus Senāpatis Haupt mit einem pfeilscharfen, rasiermessergleichen Geschoss ab.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode highlights that anger-driven, coordinated violence can still be undone by a warrior’s disciplined focus and superior skill; ethically, it cautions against krodha (wrath) as a motive, even within the sphere of kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that fourteen of his sons charge Bhīmasena and wound him with arrow-showers; Bhīma advances fiercely, likened to a wolf and to Garuḍa in speed, and then beheads Senāpati with a razor-edged arrow.