Shloka 39
तौ पाण्डवेयौ परित: समेतान् संहूयमानाविव हव्यवाहौ । भीमार्जुनौ वृषसेनाय क्रुद्धौ ववर्षतु: शरवर्ष सुघोरम्
tau pāṇḍaveyau paritaḥ sametān saṃhūyamānāv iva havyavāhau | bhīmārjunau vṛṣasenāya kruddhau vavarṣatuḥ śaravarṣaṃ sughoram ||
Sañjaya said: Those two sons of Pāṇḍu—Bhīma and Arjuna—angered at Vṛṣasena, blazed like two sacrificial fires fed with oblations. Then, upon the Kaurava troops gathered all around them, they began to pour down an exceedingly terrible rain of arrows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a warrior’s intense emotion (anger) is portrayed as a force that must be directed into disciplined action within kṣatriya-dharma. The sacrificial-fire metaphor suggests energy that is ‘fed’ and then becomes purposeful—here, in the grim context of battle—rather than uncontrolled rage.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma and Arjuna becoming furious at Vṛṣasena. Like two sacrificial fires flaring up, they unleash a terrifying barrage of arrows upon the Kaurava troops gathered around them.