Shloka 1
Droṇa–Arjuna Yuddha; Trigarta-Āvaraṇa; Bhīmasena Gajānīka-bheda
Droṇa and Arjuna Engage; Trigarta Containment; Bhīma Breaks the Elephant Corps
इस प्रकार श्रीमह् भारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत भीष्मवधपर्वरमें आठवें दिनके युद्धमें घटोत्कचका युद्धविषयक चौरानबेवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ९४ ॥। #+>.ोी >> | न हि कक पञ्चनवतितमो< ध्याय: दुर्योधनके अनुरोध और भीष्मजीकी आज्ञासे भगदत्तका घटोत्कच
sañjaya uvāca | tasmin mahati saṅkrande rājā duryodhanas tadā | parājayaṃ rākṣasena nāmṛṣyata parantapaḥ | gāṅgeyām upasaṅgamya vinayenābhivādya ca | kathayāmāsa durdharṣo viniḥśvasya punaḥ punaḥ |
Sañjaya said: In that great tumult of battle, King Duryodhana—scorcher of foes—could not endure the defeat inflicted upon him by a rākṣasa. Approaching Bhīṣma, the son of the Gaṅgā, he bowed with humility and then reported the entire matter as it had occurred. The hard-to-subdue warrior, again and again drawing long breaths, recounted how Ghaṭotkaca had prevailed and how he himself had been brought low—revealing the strain that pride and desperation place upon a leader amid the moral chaos of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to prestige and intolerance of setback drive a ruler to seek support from authority. Even a proud warrior must adopt humility before elders when circumstances expose his limits—suggesting that in war, ethical steadiness and wise counsel are more sustaining than wounded ego.
During a fierce battle, Duryodhana suffers a humiliating reverse at the hands of a rākṣasa (contextually, Ghaṭotkaca). Unable to bear it, he goes to Bhīṣma, salutes him respectfully, and reports the events in detail, repeatedly sighing as he recounts the rākṣasa’s success and his own defeat.