Shloka 10
यदा द्रक्ष्यसि संग्रामे भीमसेनं॑ महाबलम् | दुःशासनस्य रुधिरं पीत्वा नृत्यन्तमाहवे,जब तुम युद्धमें महाबली भीमसेनको दुःशासनका रक्त पीकर नाचते तथा मदकी धारा बहानेवाले गजराजके समान उन्हें शत्रुपक्षकी गजसेनाका संहार करते देखोगे, उस समय तुम्हें सत्ययुग, त्रेता और द्वापरकी प्रतीति नहीं होगी
sañjaya uvāca | yadā drakṣyasi saṅgrāme bhīmasenaṃ mahābalam | duḥśāsanasya rudhiraṃ pītvā nṛtyantam āhave |
Sañjaya said: When, on the battlefield, you behold the mighty Bhīmasena drinking Duḥśāsana’s blood and dancing in the midst of combat, then the very sense of living in an age of righteousness—Satya, Tretā, or Dvāpara—will vanish for you. Such a sight will proclaim how far the world has fallen into the harsh law of war and retribution, where vows and vengeance eclipse the gentler ideals of dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical shock of war: even a righteous cause can culminate in terrifying acts driven by vows and vengeance. It frames such brutality as a sign of moral deterioration—so extreme that the listener loses any sense of the earlier, more dharmic yugas.
Sañjaya foretells to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a future battlefield scene: Bhīma will kill Duḥśāsana and, fulfilling his vow, drink his blood and exult in combat. The prophecy is meant to warn of the catastrophic consequences awaiting the Kauravas.