Shloka 20
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
नदतां धार्तराष्ट्राणां पुन: पुनररिंदम: । धमता च महाशड्खान संग्रामे जितकाशिनाम्
sañjaya uvāca |
nadatāṃ dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ punaḥ punar ariṃdamaḥ |
dhamatā ca mahāśaṅkhān saṅgrāme jitakāśinām |
pārtha! me jānīyāt yudhiṣṭhiro mahārājo jīvati na iti; yataḥ amarṣaśīlo śatrudamanaḥ bhīmasenaḥ saṅgrāme vijayena ullasitaḥ san mahāśaṅkhān dhaman punaḥ punaḥ garjan dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ siṃhanādaṃ tūṣṇīṃ sahate |
Sañjaya said: “O Pārtha (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), it seems to me that King Yudhiṣṭhira is not alive. For Bhīmasena—unyielding in wrath and a crusher of foes—though exulting in victory, keeps blowing great conches and roaring again and again, while silently enduring the lion-like shouts of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra on the battlefield.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield sounds—roars, conches, and ‘lion-cries’—serve as signals interpreted for morale and meaning. Sanjaya reads Bhima’s behavior as an omen about Yudhishthira’s fate, showing how war distorts judgment through fear, hope, and inference rather than certainty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the Kauravas are roaring repeatedly, while Bhima, despite being victorious and loudly blowing great conches and roaring, is ‘silently enduring’ the Kaurava lion-cries. From this unusual mix of triumph and restraint, Sanjaya conjectures that Yudhishthira may have fallen.