Shloka 19
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
फिर जैसे मेघ झलकी धाराओंसे पर्वतको ढक-सा देता है, उसी प्रकार भयंकर एवं सैकड़ों बाणोंद्वारा वह भीमसेनको आच्छादित करने लगा; परंतु भीमसेन शत्रुके इस विजयसूचक लक्षणको सहन न कर सके ।। प्रतिचक्रे ततो राजन् पाण्डवो5प्यपसव्यत: । मण्डलानां विभागेषु गतप्रत्यागतेषु च,राजन! पाण्डुपुत्र भीमने भी गत-प्रत्यागत आदि मण्डलभागों (विभिन्न पैंतरों)-में अश्वत्थामाको दाहिने करके बदला चुका लिया
tataḥ yathā meghaḥ jhalakī-dhārābhiḥ parvataṃ ācchādayati, tathā sa bhīmasenaṃ bhayānaka-śata-bāṇaiḥ samantāt ācchādayām āsa; kintu bhīmasenaḥ śatroḥ vijaya-sūcaka-lakṣaṇaṃ soḍhuṃ na śaśāka. praticakre tato rājan pāṇḍavo 'py apasavyataḥ; maṇḍalānāṃ vibhāgeṣu gata-pratyāgateṣu ca, rājan, pāṇḍuputro bhīmaḥ aśvatthāmānaṃ dakṣiṇīkṛtya pratyavartata.
Sañjaya said: As a rain-cloud, flashing with streams of water, seems to veil a mountain, so did he cover Bhimasena on every side with hundreds of dreadful arrows. But Bhimasena could not endure this sign that proclaimed the enemy’s momentary triumph. Then, O King, the Pandava too countered—wheeling left and right through circular maneuvers and advances-and-withdrawals—turning Ashvatthama to his right and repaying him in kind.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid war, the verse highlights the warrior ethic of not tolerating an opponent’s triumphant dominance: Bhima refuses to accept the enemy’s ‘victory-sign’ and responds with disciplined tactical counter-maneuvers rather than despair.
Ashvatthama overwhelms Bhima with a dense volley of arrows, likened to a cloud covering a mountain. Bhima then retaliates, employing circular wheeling movements (maṇḍala), advances and retreats (gata-pratyāgata), and a positional turn that keeps Ashvatthama to his right (dakṣiṇīkṛtya), thereby reversing the pressure.