Shloka 8
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
तत: शरं महाराज सर्वकायावदारणम् । प्राहिणोद् भीमसेनाय बलायेन्द्र इवाशनिम्,राजन! तदनन्तर जैसे इन्द्रने बलासुरपर वज्र चलाया था, उसी प्रकार उसने भीमसेनपर समस्त शरीरको विदीर्ण कर देनेवाले बाणका प्रहार किया
tataḥ śaraṃ mahārāja sarvakāyāvadāraṇam | prāhiṇod bhīmasenāya balāyendra ivāśanim ||
Sañjaya said: “Then, O great king, he discharged at Bhīmasena a shaft capable of rending the entire body—just as Indra once hurled his thunderbolt against Bala.” The simile heightens the scene’s moral gravity: the warrior’s intent is not merely to wound but to annihilate, showing how the battle has escalated into a contest of overwhelming, near-divine force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war can intensify into the pursuit of total destruction, and it uses a divine comparison (Indra’s thunderbolt) to show the terrifying magnitude of human resolve when dharma-bound conflict turns ruthless.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior launches a devastating, body-rending arrow at Bhīmasena, likening the strike to Indra hurling the thunderbolt at Bala.