Shloka 553
धनुश्चिच्छेद भल्लेन सौबलस्य हसन्निव । राजन! उस बाणके धराशायी हो जानेपर भीमसेनने क्रोधपूर्वक हँसते हुए-से एक भल्ल मारकर शकुनिके धनुषको काट दिया
dhanuś ciccheda bhalleṇa saubalasya hasann iva | rājan, tasmin bāṇe dharāśāyī bhūte bhīmasenaḥ krodhapūrvakaṃ hasann ivaikaṃ bhallaṃ prahṛtya śakuneḥ dhanuś ciccheda ||
Sañjaya sprach: O König, als lache er voll Hohn, durchtrennte Bhīmasena den Bogen Saubalas (Śakunis) mit einem scharfen, breitköpfigen Pfeil. O König, selbst nachdem jener Pfeil ihn zu Boden gestreckt hatte, schien Bhīma—vom Zorn getrieben—zu lachen und schlug erneut zu, indem er Śakunis Bogen kappte.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger can drive relentless action in war: Bhīma, still inflamed with wrath, presses his advantage by disabling the enemy’s weapon. It implicitly contrasts strategic decisiveness with the moral danger of krodha (rage), a force that can eclipse restraint even when victory is already within reach.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma, seemingly laughing in contempt, strikes with a bhalla and cuts Śakuni’s bow. Even after an arrow has brought Śakuni down, Bhīma continues in anger and again severs Śakuni’s bow, leaving him disarmed in the midst of battle.