Shloka 35
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
नच तं ममृषे भीम: सिंहनादं महाहवे
sañjaya uvāca |
na ca taṃ mamṛṣe bhīmaḥ siṃhanādaṃ mahāhave |
bhīmasenaḥ sa mahāsamare bhānumataḥ sā garjanāṃ na sahasā soḍhum aśakat |
sa ca bhūyaḥ siṃhasyeva nādaṃ cakāra |
tasya nādena kaliṅgānāṃ sā viśālā vāhinī saṃtrastābhavat |
Sañjaya said: In that great battle, Bhīma could not endure the lion-like roar of Bhānumān. Provoked, Bhīmasena raised an even mightier, lion-like shout. At the force of his cry, the vast host of the Kalingas was thrown into alarm—showing how, amid war, courage and intimidation contend as much through spirit and sound as through weapons.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a kshatriya battlefield ethic: courage is tested not only by weapons but by psychological force. Endurance, resolve, and the ability to inspire fearlessness in one’s own side (and fear in the enemy) are portrayed as decisive moral-psychological factors in war.
Bhānumān gives a powerful battle-roar. Bhima cannot tolerate it and responds with an even louder lion-like shout. Bhima’s roar frightens and unsettles the large Kalinga force.