Shloka 22
Adhyāya 35 — Bhīmasena’s Counter-Encirclement and the Karṇa Engagement Escalation
पाण्डुपुत्रस्य सैन्यानि कुरु सर्वाणि भस्मसात् | 'पुरुषप्रवर! तुम्हारी जय हो। कल्याण हो। अब तुम जाओ और पाण्डुपुत्रकी सारी सेनाओंको भस्म करो ।। ततस्तूर्यसहस्राणि भेरीणामयुतानि च
pāṇḍuputrasya sainyāni kuru sarvāṇi bhasmasāt | puruṣapravara! tubhyāṁ jayo bhavatu, kalyāṇaṁ bhavatu | adya tvaṁ yāhi pāṇḍuputrasya sarvāḥ senā bhasmasāt kuru || tataḥ tūryasahasrāṇi bherīṇām ayutāni ca
Sañjaya said: “Turn all the armies of the son of Pāṇḍu to ashes. O foremost of men, victory be yours; may auspiciousness attend you. Now go forth and reduce the entire host of the Pāṇḍavas to ashes.” Thereupon, thousands of trumpets and tens of thousands of kettle-drums resounded—an ominous swell of martial acclaim.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral dissonance of war: auspicious blessings and honorific praise are voiced alongside a command for total destruction. It invites reflection on how rhetoric of victory can mask the ethical weight of violence, a recurring tension in the Mahābhārata’s dharma-discourse.
Sañjaya reports a command or exhortation directed to a leading warrior—urging him to burn the Pāṇḍavas’ forces to ashes—followed immediately by the sounding of vast numbers of trumpets and drums, signaling mobilization and heightened battle fervor.