Shloka 32
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
तोमरान् प्राहिणोच्छीघ्रं चतुर्दश शिलाशितान् | तब कलिंगराजने रणक्षेत्रमें अत्यन्त कुपित हो भीमसेनपर तुरंत ही चौदह तोमरोंका प्रहार किया, जिन्हें सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किया गया था ।।
tomarān prāhiṇoc chīghraṁ caturdaśa śilāśitān | tān prāptān mahābāhuḥ khagatān iva pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The king of Kaliṅga, inflamed with fury on the battlefield, swiftly hurled fourteen tomara-spears, their edges honed on stone, at Bhīmasena. As those weapons came flying toward him, the mighty-armed Pāṇḍava met them as if they were birds in flight—undaunted amid the violence of war, steady in courage and resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: even when confronted by sudden, sharpened weapons hurled in anger, a warrior is expected to remain steady, courageous, and skillful rather than shaken by fear or provoked into reckless rage.
Sañjaya describes the king of Kaliṅga, enraged in combat, hurling fourteen stone-whetted tomara-spears at Bhīma. Bhīma, called the mighty-armed Pāṇḍava, faces the incoming missiles confidently, likened to dealing with birds in flight.