Shloka 12
द्रोणपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः (Droṇa Parva, Chapter 15): युधिष्ठिर-रक्षा तथा अर्जुनस्य शरवृष्टिः
तथा मद्राधिपस्यापि गदावेगं महात्मन: । सोढुमुत्सहते लोके युधि को<5न्यो वृकोदरात्,इसी प्रकार संसारमें भीमसेनके सिवा दूसरा कौन ऐसा वीर है, जो युद्धमें महामनस्वी मद्रराज शल्यकी गदाके वेगको सह सकता है
tathā madrādhipasyāpi gadāvegaṃ mahātmanaḥ | soḍhum utsahate loke yudhi ko 'nyo vṛkodarāt ||
Sañjaya said: “Likewise, who else in this world—on the battlefield—has the strength to endure the rushing force of the mace of the great-souled Śalya, lord of Madra, except Vṛkodara (Bhīma)?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of steadfast endurance in righteous combat: true strength is not only striking power but the capacity to withstand an opponent’s might without losing resolve—an important facet of kṣatriya-dharma in the epic’s war ethic.
Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, praises Bhīma (Vṛkodara) as uniquely capable of bearing the tremendous mace-force of Śalya, the king of Madra, thereby elevating the intensity and significance of the ongoing martial encounters.