Shloka 493
एकविंशतिसाहस्रान् पदातीन् समपोथयत् । रथ और घोड़ोंसे रहित उन इकक््कीसों हजार पैदल सैनिकोंको पुरुषप्रवर भीमने गदासे मारकर धराशायी कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | ekaviṃśatisāhasrān padātīn samapothayat |
Sañjaya said: Bhīma, foremost among men, struck down and crushed twenty-one thousand foot-soldiers—left without chariots and horses—bringing them to the ground with his mace. The scene underscores the brutal momentum of battle, where strength and resolve can overwhelm vast numbers, sharpening the ethical tension between martial duty and the human cost of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the relentless force of war and the kṣatriya ideal of decisive action in battle, while implicitly confronting the moral weight of mass slaughter—valor and duty unfolding amid immense human loss.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, wielding his mace, overwhelms and fells twenty-one thousand infantrymen who are described as being without chariots and horses, emphasizing both their vulnerability and Bhīma’s destructive prowess.