Shloka 21
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
व्यधमत् तान्यनीकानि तत्क्षणादेव भारत । दुर्योधनं विकर्ण च कर्ण चापि महाबलम्,उस समय दुर्योधन, विकर्ण, सुबाहु, दीर्घलोचन और दुःशासन बड़े क्रोधमें भरकर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। भारत! युद्धमें परास्त न होनेवाले महान धनुर्थर ट्रुपदने अत्यन्त घायल होकर तत्काल ही उन सबकी सेनाओंको अत्यन्त पीड़ित कर दिया। वे अलातचक्रकी भाँति सब ओर घूमकर दुर्योधन, विकर्ण, महाबली कर्ण, अनेक वीर राजकुमार तथा उनकी विविध सेनाओंको बाणोंसे तृप्त करने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vyadhamat tāny anīkāni tatkṣaṇād eva bhārata |
duryodhanaṃ vikarṇaṃ ca karṇaṃ cāpi mahābalam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, in that very instant he shattered those battle-formations. He struck Duryodhana, Vikarṇa, and also the mighty Karṇa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the volatility of worldly power in conflict: even large forces and famed warriors can be broken in an instant. Ethically, it points to how aggression escalates into wider suffering, and how reliance on sheer force offers no stable security.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a battlefield moment where a warrior (implied by context) immediately disperses enemy formations and strikes key Kaurava figures—Duryodhana, Vikarṇa, and the mighty Karṇa—showing a sudden tactical and martial advantage.