Shloka 50
स समासाद्य संग्रामे भीम॑ भीमपराक्रमम् । वारयामास तं वीरो वेलेव मकरालयम्
sa samāsādya saṅgrāme bhīmaṁ bhīmaparākramam | vārayāmāsa taṁ vīro veleva makarālayam, mahārāja |
Sañjaya said: O King, advancing into the thick of battle, that hero came up to Bhīma—whose might was itself terrifying—and checked him, just as the shoreline holds back the ocean, the abode of sea-creatures.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights restraint and counterbalance within warfare: even overwhelming power (Bhīma) can be checked by an opposing resolve, symbolized by the shore that limits the sea. It suggests that in kṣatriya conflict, strength is not absolute; boundaries are set by duty, strategy, and the presence of an equal or timely obstacle.
Sañjaya reports to the king that a warrior advances in the battle and reaches Bhīma, then stops his advance—likened to the coastline holding back the ocean. It marks a tactical moment where Bhīma’s momentum is halted by an opponent’s intervention.