Shloka 27
भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः
The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat
सगदानुद्यतान् बाहूनू सखड्गांश्न विशाम्पते । सप्रासांश्व सतूणीरान् सशरान् सशरासनान्
sa-gadān udyatān bāhūn sa-khaḍgāṁś ca viśāṁ-pate | sa-prāsāṁś ca sa-tūṇīrān sa-śarān sa-śarāsanān ||
Sanjaya said: O lord of the people, he cut down the warriors’ upraised arms—arms bearing maces and swords, and also spears—together with their quivers, arrows, and bows. In that battlefield Arjuna had assumed a most dreadful form, severing the very instruments of violence from those who wielded them.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethical weight of righteous war: Arjuna’s prowess is shown not as cruelty for its own sake, but as decisive action in a dharmic conflict—disabling opponents by severing the weapon-bearing arms, symbolically stripping away the means of harm.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Arjuna, appearing fearsome in battle, is cutting down the raised arms of enemy warriors along with their weapons and gear—maces, swords, spears, quivers, arrows, and bows—demonstrating overwhelming battlefield dominance.