Shloka 23

अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

अक्कुद्धयत रणे भीमस्तैर्म॑थे प्रत्यवस्थितै:

Transliteration

akrudhyata raṇe bhīmas tair mathe pratyavasthitaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Mitten im dichten Kampf ließ Bhīma dem Zorn keinen Raum. Den Kriegern gegenüber, die in enger Schlachtordnung Stellung bezogen hatten, hielt er stand mit unbeirrbarer Entschlossenheit — disziplinierte Kraft, Tapferkeit, die durch Selbstbeherrschung im Druck des Krieges gelenkt wird.

Word by Word

अक्रुद्ध्यत्became angry / was enraged

रणेin battle

भीमःBhima

तैःby/with those

मथेin the melee / in the churning (of battle)

प्रत्यवस्थितैःstanding firm/opposed, arrayed against (him)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīma

battlefield (raṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, strength is meant to be governed by restraint. Bhīma’s steadiness suggests that righteous action is not mere rage but disciplined courage aligned with duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, confronted by opponents positioned directly before him in the dense press of battle, remains composed and does not succumb to anger as the fighting intensifies.