Shloka 31
भीमसेन-धृष्टद्युम्नयोर्वाक्यं
Bhīmasena and Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Speeches on Kṣātra-Dharma
जघानोरसि संक्रुद्ध: कालज्वलनसंनिभै: । अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरे हुए घटोत्कचने युद्धस्थलमें कालाग्निके समान दस तेजस्वी बाणोंद्वारा अश्वत्थामाकी छातीमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। ३० इ ।। स तैरभ्यायतैर्विद्धो राक्षसेन महाबल:,राक्षसद्वारा चलाये हुए उन विशाल बाणोंसे घायल हो महाबली अभश्वत्थामा समरांगणमें आँधीके हिलाये हुए वृक्षके समान काँपने लगा। वह ध्वजदण्डका सहारा ले मूर्च्छित हो गया
sañjaya uvāca |
jaghānorasi saṅkruddhaḥ kālajvalanasaṃnibhaiḥ |
atyanta-krodha-meṃ bhare hue ghaṭotkacane yuddhasthaleṃ kālāgni-ke samāna daśa tejasvī bāṇoṃdvārā aśvatthāmā-kī chātī-meṃ gaharī coṭ pahuṃcāyī ||
sa tair abhyāyataiḥ viddho rākṣasena mahābalaḥ |
rākṣasa-dvārā calāye hue un viśāla bāṇoṃse ghāyal ho mahābalī aśvatthāmā samarāṅgaṇ-meṃ āṃdhī-ke hilāye hue vṛkṣa-ke samāna kāṃpane lagā |
sa dhvajadaṇḍa-śaraṇaṃ le mūrcchitaḥ abhavat ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Ghaṭotkaca struck Aśvatthāmā on the chest with ten blazing arrows, like the fire of Time itself, driving them deep amid the crush of battle. Pierced by those swiftly rushing shafts loosed by the mighty rākṣasa, the powerful Aśvatthāmā trembled on the field like a tree shaken by a storm; leaning on the staff of his banner, he swooned.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical danger of uncontrolled anger in war: wrath intensifies cruelty and blinds judgment, while the battlefield remains a realm where even celebrated strength can collapse in an instant—reminding the listener of human fragility under the shadow of Kāla (death/time).
Ghaṭotkaca, furious, shoots ten extremely powerful arrows into Aśvatthāmā’s chest. Aśvatthāmā, badly wounded, shakes like a storm-tossed tree and then, leaning on his banner-staff, loses consciousness on the battlefield.