Shloka 22
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
आयसेन स दण्डेन रथान् नागान् नरान् हयान् | हनिष्यति रणे क्रुद्धो रौद्र: क्रूरपराक्रम:,निष्ठर पराक्रम प्रकट करनेवाला यह भयंकर भीमसेन समरभूमिमें कुपित होकर लौहदंडसे मेरे रथों, हाथियों, पैदल मनुष्यों और घोड़ोंका भी संहार कर डालेगा
āyasena sa daṇḍena rathān nāgān narān hayān | haniṣyati raṇe kruddho raudraḥ krūraparākramaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “In battle, when enraged, that dreadful Bhīmasena—fierce in valor—will strike with an iron club and slaughter my chariots, elephants, foot-soldiers, and horses.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical recoil of unjust conflict: when rulers fail to restrain adharma, war’s violence becomes unavoidable, and even the powerful are consumed by fear of the destruction they helped set in motion.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra voices anxiety about Bhīma’s battlefield fury, imagining him wielding an iron club to annihilate the Kaurava forces—chariots, elephants, infantry, and horses—once the war erupts.