Shloka 13
अनीकव्यूहप्रतिव्यूहः
Counter-deployment of Divisions and the Opening Tumult
समीक्ष्य सेनाग्रगतं दुरासदं संविव्यथु: पड़कगता यथा द्विपा: । वृकोदरं वारणराजदर्प योधास्त्वदीया भयविग्नसत्त्वा:,वृकोदर भीमसेन, नकुल और सहदेवके साथ रहकर अपने वीर रथी धृष्टद्युम्नकी रक्षा कर रहे थे। जो सिंहों और साँड़ोंके समान उन्मत्त-से होकर युद्धका खेल खेलते हैं, जिनका दर्प गजराजके समान बढ़ा हुआ है तथा जो लोकमें देवराज इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी हैं, उन्हीं दुर्धष वीर भीमसेनको सेनाके अग्रभागमें उपस्थित देख आपके सैनिक भयसे उद्विग्नचित्त हो कीचड़में फँसे हुए हाथियोंकी भाँति व्यथित हो उठे
saṃīkṣya senāgragataṃ durāsadaṃ saṃvivyathuḥ paṅkagatā yathā dvipāḥ | vṛkodaraṃ vāraṇarājadarpā yodhās tvadīyā bhayavignasattvāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing the hard-to-assail Bhīma (Vṛkodara) stationed at the very front of the army, your warriors—whose pride was like that of lordly elephants—were shaken with fear; their courage faltered, and they writhed like elephants stuck fast in mud.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological contrast: pride (darpāḥ) collapses when confronted by genuine strength and steadfastness. Ethical force in war is not merely physical power but unwavering resolve; those who depend on arrogance and external advantage become inwardly shaken when faced with a truly formidable opponent.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma stands at the front of the Pāṇḍava forces. On seeing him, the Kaurava warriors lose composure and tremble, compared to elephants trapped in mud—powerful yet immobilized and distressed.