Shloka 8
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
जैसे जोरसे उठी हुई वायु मेघोंकी घटाको छिलन्न-भिन्न कर डालती है, उसी प्रकार पवनपुत्र भीमसेनने उन समस्त गजसेनाओंको तहस-नहस कर डाला ।। स तेषु विसृजन् बाणान् भीमो नागेष्वशोभत । भुवनेष्विव सर्वेषु गभस्तीनुदितो रवि:
sa teṣu visṛjan bāṇān bhīmo nāgeṣv aśobhata | bhuvaneṣv iva sarveṣu gabhastīn udito raviḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As a powerful wind rises and tears apart masses of clouds, so did Bhīmasena, the son of the Wind-god, shatter and lay waste to all those elephant-battalions. Releasing his arrows among the elephants, Bhīma shone there—like the newly risen sun spreading its rays across all the worlds.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic: decisive action and fearlessness in executing one’s role, while reminding the listener—through grand natural similes—that war unleashes overwhelming forces whose consequences are vast and sobering.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma attacking the elephant battalions: he showers arrows among the elephants and devastates their formation, appearing radiant and unstoppable—likened to the rising sun spreading rays through all the worlds.