Shloka 77
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
ततः पुनरमेयात्मा नाराचैनिशितैस्त्रिभि: । केतुमन्तं रणे भीमोडगमयद् यमसादनम्,इसके बाद अमेय आत्मबलसे सम्पन्न भीमने तीन तीखे नाराचोंद्वारा रणक्षेत्रमें केतुमान्को मारकर उसे यमलोक भेज दिया
tataḥ punar ameyātmā nārācai niśitais tribhiḥ | ketumantaṃ raṇe bhīmo ’dagamayad yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya said: Then again, Bhīma—of immeasurable spirit—struck Ketumān in the thick of battle with three razor-sharp nārāca arrows, and sent him to Yama’s abode.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield killing within the larger moral-cosmic vocabulary of dharma and destiny: a warrior’s prowess operates in a world where death is ultimately governed by Yama, reminding the listener that war’s victories are inseparable from grave consequences.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, returning to the fight, shoots Ketumān with three sharp nārāca arrows and kills him, poetically described as sending him to Yama’s abode.