Shloka 866
भीमसेनो महाबाहु: क्रोधमाहारयत् परम् । मालवनरेश सुदर्शन, पुरुदेशके अधिपति वृद्धक्षत्र तथा चेदिदेशके युवराजको अपनी आँखोंके सामने द्रोणपुत्रके हाथसे मारा गया देख पाण्डुकुमार महाबाहु भीमसेनको बड़ा भारी क्रोध हुआ
bhīmaseno mahābāhuḥ krodham āhārayat param | mālavanareśaḥ sudarśanaḥ purudeśake 'dhipatiḥ vṛddhakṣatraḥ tathā cedideśake yuvārājaḥ droṇaputrasya hastena hatān dṛṣṭvā pāṇḍukumāro mahābāhuḥ bhīmaseno mahān krodhaṃ prāpa |
Sañjaya said: Mighty-armed Bhīmasena was seized by an extreme wrath. Before his very eyes, Sudarśana, the king of Mālava, Vṛddhakṣatra, the lord of Purudeśa, and the young prince of the Cedi country were slain by Droṇa’s son. Seeing these deaths, the Pāṇḍava Bhīma’s anger surged—an ethical turning point where grief and outrage in war harden into a vow of retaliation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how, in the chaos of war, witnessing unjust or shocking deaths can ignite krodha (wrath). It implicitly warns that anger, though understandable within kṣatriya warfare, can drive escalation and cloud discernment—making ethical restraint difficult even for the righteous.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāman (Droṇa’s son) kills several notable figures—Sudarśana of Mālava, Vṛddhakṣatra of Purudeśa, and the Cedi crown prince—right before Bhīma. Seeing this, Bhīma becomes intensely enraged, setting up a retaliatory response in the ongoing battle.