Shloka 8
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
चेदिमत्स्यकरूषाश्न॒ भीमसेनपदानुगा:
sañjaya uvāca | cedimatsyakarūṣāś ca bhīmasenapadānugāḥ | samare niṣādānāṃ ca teṣāṃ rājñāṃś ca jaghnire | tataḥ senā-dvayor ghoraṃ yuddham āsīd bhayāvaham ||
Sañjaya dit : «Suivant la trace de Bhīmasena, les kṣatriya de Cedi, de Matsya et de Karūṣa s’avancèrent sur le champ de bataille et fondirent sur les Niṣāda et leurs rois. Alors, entre les deux armées, s’éleva un combat des plus terribles et effrayants — une guerre emportée par l’élan et l’allégeance, où il ne restait presque plus de place pour la retenue.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how allegiance to a powerful leader and the momentum of battle can rapidly escalate violence. It implicitly raises an ethical tension central to the epic: Kṣatriya duty to fight versus the human cost when war becomes ‘ghora’ (dreadful) and ‘bhayāvaha’ (fear-producing).
Sañjaya reports that warriors from Cedi, Matsya, and Karūṣa, moving in step with Bhīma’s advance, attack the Niṣādas and their rulers on the battlefield. This triggers a fierce, terrifying clash between the opposing groups.