Shloka 11
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
प्राहिणोत् सूतपुत्राय षडस्रामविचारयन् | तब क्रोधसे लाल नेत्रोंवाले महाबाहु भीमसेनने चार बित्तेकी बनी हुई वज्जके समान भयंकर तथा सुवर्णमय भुजबंदसे विभूषित छः कोणोंवाली भारी गदा उठाकर उसे बिना विचारे सूतपुत्र कर्णपर चला दिया ।। तया जघानाधिरथे: सदश्वान् साधुवाहिन:
sañjaya uvāca |
prāhiṇot sūtaputrāya ṣaḍ-asrām vicārayan |
tataḥ krodhāt sa lohita-netro mahā-bāhur bhīmaseno catur-bitte kṛtāṃ vajraka-sannibhāṃ bhayaṅkarāṃ suvarṇa-maya-bhuja-bandhaiḥ vibhūṣitāṃ ṣaṭ-koṇāṃ gurvīṃ gadām utthāpya tāṃ nirvicāraṃ sūtaputra-karṇe prāhiṇot ||
tayā jaghānādhirathaḥ sa-daśvān sādhu-vāhinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Deliberating, Bhīmasena hurled toward the charioteer’s son (Karna) a massive, six-edged mace. In anger his eyes reddened; raising that dreadful weapon—four cubits long, hard as a thunderbolt, and adorned with golden arm-bands—he flung it without hesitation at Karna. With it, the great charioteer struck down the well-horsed, well-driven chariot-force. The scene underscores how wrath can override careful judgment in war, even for mighty heroes, and how violence escalates when restraint (dama) is abandoned.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of krodha (anger): even a powerful warrior can abandon careful judgment and act impulsively, intensifying destruction. In the Mahābhārata’s moral frame, strength is praised, but restraint and discernment are repeatedly shown as higher safeguards of dharma.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma, eyes red with rage, lifting a heavy six-angled mace adorned with gold and hurling it at Karna (called sūtaputra). The blow is portrayed as devastating, striking down a well-horsed, well-driven chariot-force amid the battle of Droṇa Parva.