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 ||
Sañjaya dit : Les cheveux en désordre, on les voyait courir de tous côtés. Dans l’armée de Yudhiṣṭhira, fils de Pāṇḍu, d’autres soldats—ayant rejeté leurs armures—paraissaient fuir de toutes parts, la chevelure défaite par la panique. Cette troupe ressemblait à un hameau de bouviers (Gokula) jeté dans la confusion, avec des timons et des pièces de chars éparpillés dans le tumulte.
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.