Shloka 82
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
हत्वैनं पुनरायाति नागानन्यान् प्रहारिण:
hatvainaṃ punar āyāti nāgān anyān prahāriṇaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “Having slain him, they return again to strike. After killing this son of a Niṣāda, they repeatedly assault other and other elephants. Behold Bhīmasena—like a mass of dark rain-clouds—cutting down the elephants, even those bearing their mahouts upon their shoulders, with volleys of spears and tomara-javelins.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the grim ethic of battlefield duty: relentless action and repeated assault are praised as martial effectiveness, yet the mention of a Niṣāda’s son hints at the moral strain of war—where social boundaries and the value of life are tested amid the demands of kṣatriya combat.
Sañjaya reports that after killing a Niṣāda’s son, the fighters return to attack more elephants. Bhīma is depicted as overwhelmingly powerful, striking down successive war-elephants—along with their mounted mahouts—using spears and tomara-javelins, compared to a dense bank of dark clouds.