Shloka 56
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
रथं च स्वं समास्थाय धनुरादाय चापरम् | स्वयं यच्छन् हयान् राजन् व्यधमत् पाण्डवीं चमूम्,राजन! तत्पश्चात् भूरिश्रवा अपने रथपर बैठकर स्वयं ही घोड़ोंकों काबूमें रखता हुआ दूसरा धनुष हाथमें ले पाण्डव-सेनाका संहार करने लगा
rathaṁ ca svaṁ samāsthāya dhanur ādāya cāparam | svayaṁ yacchan hayān rājan vyadhamat pāṇḍavīṁ camūm ||
Sañjaya said: Mounting his own chariot and taking up another bow, Bhūriśravā—personally restraining the horses, O King—began to strike down the Pāṇḍava host.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, personal skill and determination can magnify collective destruction. It implicitly sharpens the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, battlefield success carries grave human cost and moral weight.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhūriśravā mounts his chariot, takes up another bow, personally controls the horses, and begins vigorously cutting down the Pāṇḍava forces.