Shloka 48
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तेषां प्रद्रवतां भीम: पज्चालानामितस्तत:
teṣāṁ pradravatāṁ bhīmaḥ pāñcālānām itas tataḥ
Sañjaya dit : Tandis que les Pāñcāla fuyaient dans la confusion, Bhīma allait et venait parmi eux, poussant la déroute et aggravant la panique de la retraite—image de ce que, dans la guerre, lorsque l’ordre se brise, la peur peut se répandre dans toute une armée.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a practical ethical insight of the epic’s war narrative: once discipline collapses, fear multiplies and a retreat can become a rout; therefore leaders and warriors must preserve steadiness and order, since panic harms not only the individual but the whole host.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāñcālas are fleeing, and Bhīma is moving “here and there” among them—suggesting vigorous pursuit and battlefield pressure during a moment of disarray.