Shloka 36
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
अथ कार्मुकमादाय भीमो जलदनि:स्वनम् | रिपोरभ्यर्दयन्नागमुन्नदन् पाण्डव: शरै:
atha kārmukam ādāya bhīmo jalada-niḥsvanam | ripor abhyardayann āgam unnadan pāṇḍavaḥ śaraiḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Entonces Bhīma tomó su arco, cuyo estruendo era profundo como el trueno de las nubes. Rugiendo, el hijo de Pāṇḍu acometió al elefante enemigo, atormentándolo con una lluvia de flechas: imagen de una fuerza implacable dirigida a quebrar la máquina de guerra del adversario.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: disciplined, forceful action aimed at disabling the opponent’s combat power. The ethical frame is not personal cruelty but the grim necessity of war, where strategic targets (like war-elephants) are neutralized to protect one’s side.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma seizing his thunderous-sounding bow, roaring, and striking the enemy’s elephant with arrows, causing it intense distress—an escalation in the combat scene emphasizing Bhīma’s ferocity and momentum.