Shloka 41
अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa
with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma
अक्कुद्धबत महाकायो भैमसेनिर्घटोत्कच: । अश्वत्थामाके धनुषसे छूटे हुए बाणोंद्वारा घायल हो उन राक्षसोंको भागते देख विशालकाय भीमसेनकुमार घटोत्कच कुपित हो उठा || ४० है ।।
akkruddhabat mahākāyo bhaimasenir ghaṭotkacaḥ | aśvatthāmake dhanuṣaś ca chūṭe hue bāṇair dvārā ghāyala ho una rākṣasān ko bhāgate dekh viśālakāya bhīmasenakumāra ghaṭotkacaḥ kupito ho uṭhā || prāduścakre tato māyāṃ ghorarūpāṃ sudāruṇām ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als er sah, wie jene Rākṣasas, von den Pfeilen verwundet, die aus Aśvatthāmās Bogen geschossen waren, die Flucht ergriffen, loderte Ghaṭotkaca — Bhīmasenas riesenleibiger Sohn — vor Zorn auf. Da ließ er eine māyā erscheinen, eine Illusion von schrecklicher Gestalt und überaus grausamer Wucht.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger in battle quickly escalates conflict: when Ghaṭotkaca sees his rākṣasa allies wounded and retreating, he responds not with restraint but by unleashing māyā—showing how krodha can drive one toward harsher, more destabilizing means, raising ethical tension about proportionality and the use of deceptive power in war.
Aśvatthāmā’s arrows have wounded certain rākṣasas, who begin to flee. Ghaṭotkaca, Bhīma’s gigantic rākṣasa son, becomes enraged at this sight and then produces a terrifying magical illusion (māyā), intensifying the battle’s danger and confusion.