Shloka 31
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
उदक्रोशच्च संदहृष्टस्त्रासयानो वरूथिनीम् । राजन! भीमसेनने अपने विशाल खड्गसे उसके वेगपूर्वक चलाये हुए तीखे बाणके दो टुकड़े कर दिये और कलिंगोंकी सेनाको भयभीत करते हुए हर्षमें भरकर बड़े जोरसे सिंहनाद किया || ३० ह ।।
sañjaya uvāca | udakrośac ca saṃdahṛṣṭas trāsayāno varūthinīm | rājan bhīmasenena ātmanaḥ viśālakhadgena tasya vegapūrvakaṃ calāyitānāṃ tīkṣṇabāṇānāṃ dvau ṭukau kṛtau, kaliṅgānāṃ senāṃ bhayabhītāṃ kurvan harṣeṇa pūrṇaḥ mahābalena siṃhanādaṃ cakāra | tataḥ kruddhaḥ kaliṅgarāṭ bhīmasenāya saṃyuge ... |
Sañjaya said: Exultant and roaring aloud, Bhīmasena struck down the enemy’s onrushing, razor-sharp arrows with his broad sword, cutting them into two. Then, to shake the Kalinga ranks with fear, he filled with fierce joy and let out a mighty lion-roar. Enraged by this, the king of Kalinga turned upon Bhīmasena in the thick of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a kṣatriya ideal: steadfast courage and skill in battle can protect one’s side and break the enemy’s morale. Yet it also shows how displays of dominance provoke anger and counterattack, reminding readers that war tends to intensify through cycles of fear, pride, and retaliation.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, exhilarated, slices the enemy’s fast-flying sharp arrows into two with his broad sword and then roars like a lion to frighten the Kalinga troops. The king of Kalinga becomes furious and advances against Bhīma in battle.