Shloka 26
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
चेकितानस्ततः क्रुद्धः पुनश्चिक्षेप तां गदाम् । गौतमस्य वधाकाड़ूक्षी वृत्रस्येव पुरंदर:,तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए चेकितानने कृपाचार्यके वधकी इच्छासे उनपर पुनः वैसे ही गदाका प्रहार किया, जैसे इन्द्र वृत्रासुरपर प्रहार करते हैं
Cekitānas tataḥ kruddhaḥ punaś cikṣepa tāṁ gadām | Gautamasya vadhākāṅkṣī Vṛtrasyeva Purandaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Cekitāna, inflamed with anger and intent on killing Gautama (Kṛpācārya), once again hurled that mace at him—just as Purandara (Indra) strikes at Vṛtra. The verse frames Cekitāna’s act as a fierce, single-minded attempt to slay a revered warrior-teacher, intensifying the moral tension of battlefield duty against the gravity of targeting an elder and preceptor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger can sharpen resolve into single-minded violence, and it implicitly raises the ethical tension of war: even when kṣatriya duty demands combat, the intention to kill a revered elder/preceptor figure (Kṛpa) carries moral weight, reminding readers that inner states (like wrath) shape the righteousness of action.
Sañjaya describes Cekitāna, furious, throwing his mace again at Kṛpa (called ‘Gautama’s’), with the explicit aim of killing him; the force and ferocity are compared to Indra striking Vṛtra.