Shloka 49
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
जघान रथिनश्वापि बलवान रिपुमर्दन: । शत्रुओंका मर्दन करनेवाले बलवान भीम युद्धमें रथारोहियोंके रथोंके ईषादण्ड और जूए काटकर उन रथियोंका भी संहार कर डालते थे || ४८ ह ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
jaghāna rathinaś cāpi balavān ripumardanaḥ |
śatrūṇāṃ mardana-karaṇe balavān bhīma yuddhe rathārohīṇāṃ rathānām īṣā-daṇḍān ca yūgāni ca chittvā tān rathino 'pi saṃharati sma ||
bhīmasenaś caran mārgān subahūn pratyadṛśyata |
tasmin kāle pāṇḍu-nandanaḥ bhīmasenaḥ aneka-mārgeṣu vicarann iva dṛśyate sma |
sa khaḍga-yuddhasya bhrānta-āviddha-udbhrānta-āpluta-prasṛta-pluta-sampāta-samudīrṇa-ādīn bahūn pāñcarān darśayām āsa ||
Sanjaya said: The mighty Bhima, famed as a crusher of foes, struck down even the chariot-warriors. In the press of battle, intent on breaking the enemy’s strength, he cut the chariots’ pole-shafts and yokes and thereby destroyed those riders as well. At that time Bhimasena, the son of Pandu, was seen moving along many routes across the field, displaying numerous sword-fighting maneuvers—feints, whirling cuts, sudden leaps, forward rushes, springing advances, plunging descents, and forceful, surging attacks—so that his prowess became a visible instrument of the Pandavas’ cause in the grim ethics of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how martial excellence is framed within kṣatriya-dharma: Bhima’s strength is not mere rage but a directed, tactical force aimed at disabling the enemy’s war-machines (chariots) and thereby protecting his side. It also implies the ethical tension of war—skill and duty operating amid inevitable destruction.
Sanjaya describes Bhima’s battlefield dominance: he cuts key chariot components (pole-shafts and yokes), causing chariot-warriors to be slain or rendered helpless, and he is seen ranging across many parts of the field while exhibiting numerous sword-fighting maneuvers.