Shloka 32
दुःशासनवधः (Duḥśāsana-vadha) — Bhīma’s vow-fulfillment in combat
गृह्नी ध्वमिति राजानमभ्यधावन्त सर्वश: । उस समय राजा दुर्योधनसहित आपके सभी पुत्र इस प्रकार कोलाहल करने लगे --'राजा युधिष्ठिरको पकड़ लो” ऐसा कहकर वे सभी ओरसे उनकी ओर दौड़ पड़े ।। ततः शता: सप्तदश केकयानां प्रहारिणाम्
gṛhṇīdhvam iti rājānam abhyadhāvanta sarvaśaḥ | tataḥ śatāḥ saptadaśa kekayānāṃ prahāriṇām ||
Sañjaya said: “Seize the king!”—crying thus, they rushed at him from every side. Then seventeen hundred Kekaya warriors, fierce in assault, advanced into the fray.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, the impulse to seize the opposing leader can override restraint; it implicitly warns that collective frenzy and tactical obsession with capture intensify adharma-like violence and accelerate escalation.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana and the Kaurava forces shout to capture the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and charge from all directions; immediately after, a large contingent—seventeen hundred Kekaya fighters—moves forward as the battle surges.