Shloka 77
अर्जुनागमनम्
Arjuna’s Arrival and Reunion on the Sacred Mountain
ददृशु: सर्वभूतानि सिंहेनेव गवां पतिम् । त॑ प्रेक्ष्य निहत॑ भूमौ हतशेषा निशाचरा: । भीममार्तस्वरं कृत्वा जम्मु: प्राचीं दिशं॑ प्रति,वह गदा उस राक्षसके प्राण लेकर भूमिपर मूर्तिमती कृत्याके समान गिर पड़ी। भीमसेनके द्वारा मारे गये उस भयानक शक्तिशाली राक्षसको सब प्राणियोंने प्रत्यक्ष देखा, मानो सिंहने किसी साँड़को मार गिराया हो। उसे मरकर पृथ्वीपर गिरा देख मरनेसे बचे हुए निशाचर भयंकर आर्तनाद करते हुए पूर्व दिशाकी ओर भाग चले
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dadṛśuḥ sarvabhūtāni siṃheneva gavāṃ patim | taṃ prekṣya nihataṃ bhūmau hataśeṣā niśācarāḥ | bhīmam ārtasvaraṃ kṛtvā jagmuḥ prācīṃ diśaṃ prati |
Vaiśampāyana said: All beings beheld that lord of the cattle struck down, as if a lion had felled a bull. Seeing him slain and lying upon the earth, the surviving night-roamers raised a dreadful cry and fled toward the eastern quarter.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral pattern in epic narrative: predatory violence collapses when confronted by a stronger guardian; the aggressors’ confidence breaks, and they retreat in fear. It implicitly affirms the kṣatriya-ideal of protecting others by restraining harmful forces.
A powerful night-roaming demon has been slain and lies on the ground; all beings witness the fall, compared to a lion bringing down a bull. The remaining niśācaras, terrified, cry out and flee toward the east.