Shloka 4
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements
सोदर्या: सहिता भूत्वा भीमसेनमुपाद्रवन् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! भरतनन्दन! पाण्डुपुत्र भीमसेनके द्वारा आपकी गजसेना तथा दूसरी सेनाका भी संहार हो जानेपर जब आपका पुत्र कुरुवंशी दुर्योधन कहीं दिखायी नहीं दिया, तब मरनेसे बचे हुए आपके सभी पुत्र एक साथ हो गये और समरांगणमें दण्डधारी, प्राणान्तकारी यमराजके समान कुपित हुए शत्रुदमन भीमसेनको विचरते देख सब मिलकर उनपर टूट पड़े ।। दुर्मर्षण: श्रुतान्तश्न जैत्रो भूरिबलो रवि:
sodaryāḥ sahitā bhūtvā bhīmasenam upādravan |
Sanjaya said: Then the brothers, gathering together as one, rushed to attack Bhīmasena. After the son of Pāṇḍu had destroyed your elephant-corps and other divisions, and with Duryodhana nowhere to be seen, all your sons who had escaped death came together. Seeing Bhīma roaming the battlefield in wrath—like Yama bearing the staff of punishment and bringing death—they fell upon him all at once. (The names of the attackers follow in the next portion.)
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, when leadership falters and fear spreads, collective action can arise from desperation rather than discernment; wrath-driven retaliation on the battlefield mirrors the inexorable force of death (Yama), reminding readers of the ethical cost and inevitability that war unleashes.
After Bhīma devastates the Kaurava forces and Duryodhana is not seen, the surviving sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra unite and charge together at Bhīmasena, who is depicted as moving about the battlefield in furious, death-dealing power.