Shloka 31
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
प्रकीर्य केशान् धावन्त: प्रत्यदृश्यन्त सर्वशः । पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके दूसरे सैनिक कवच उतारकर केश बिखेरे हुए सब ओर भागते दिखायी देते थे ।। ३० ह ।। तद् गोकुलमिवोद्शभ्रान्तमुद्भ्रान्तरथकूबरम्
sañjaya uvāca | prakīrya keśān dhāvantaḥ pratyadṛśyanta sarvaśaḥ | pāṇḍuputra yudhiṣṭhirake dūsare sainikakavaca utārakara keśa bikhere hue saba ora bhāgate dikhāī dete the || 30 ha || tad gokulam ivodbhāntam udbhāntarathakūbaram ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Con el cabello desgreñado, se les veía correr en todas direcciones. En el ejército de Yudhiṣṭhira, hijo de Pāṇḍu, otros soldados—tras arrojar sus armaduras—aparecían huyendo por doquier, con el pelo suelto por el pánico. Aquel ejército parecía una aldea de vaqueros (Gokula) sumida en confusión, con pértigas y piezas de carros esparcidas en el tumulto.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear can dissolve discipline and duty in war: soldiers abandon armour and order, revealing the ethical tension between kṣatriya resolve and human panic. It implicitly contrasts steadfastness (dharma in battle) with the chaos that arises when courage collapses.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that troops in Yudhiṣṭhira’s force are in disarray—hair loose, armour discarded, fleeing in all directions. The army’s confusion is compared to a gokula (cowherd settlement) suddenly disturbed, with chariot equipment scattered about.