Mahabharata 7.136.116 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 136, Shloka 116
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
गदया भारत: क्रुद्धो वज्ेणेन्द्र इवासुरान् | जैसे कुपित हुए इन्द्रने वज़्से असुरोंका वध किया था
sañjaya uvāca | gadayā bhārataḥ kruddho vajreṇendra ivāsurān |
Dijo Sañjaya: Encolerizado, Bhīma—vástago de la estirpe de Bharata—blandió su maza como Indra arroja el rayo contra los Asuras; y en esa furia abatió los excelentes caballos de Karṇa, hijo de Adhiratha, aptos para sostener al jinete y tirar del carro.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) intensifies destructive capacity in war and can shift action toward ruthless expediency—here, crippling an enemy’s effectiveness by killing the horses. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between battlefield necessity and the moral cost of wrath-driven violence.
Sanjaya describes Bhima, furious in combat, striking with his mace in a manner compared to Indra’s thunderbolt against the Asuras. In that onslaught, Bhima kills Karna’s fine horses, thereby impairing Karna’s chariot mobility and combat advantage.
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