Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 20
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
भीमसेन रणे क्रुद्धो द्रोणपुत्रो न्यवारयत्
sañjaya uvāca |
bhīmasenaḥ raṇe kruddho droṇaputraḥ nyavārayat |
mahārāja! raṇakṣetre kupito droṇaputra aśvatthāmā samantato diśāsu kṣiptaiḥ nānāvidhaiḥ bāṇaiḥ bhīmasenaṃ prāgabhimukhaṃ gantum avārayat |
tasmin samaye saṅgrāme na vīrāṇāṃ parijñānaṃ āsīt na diśāṃ ca, avāntara-diśāṃ (koṇānāṃ) tu kuta eva ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, dans la bataille, Bhīmasena, enflammé de colère, fut arrêté. Sur le champ, Aśvatthāmā, fils de Droṇa, lui aussi courroucé, retint Bhīma d’avancer en décochant maintes sortes de flèches dans toutes les directions. Alors, dans le tumulte de la guerre, on ne distinguait plus nettement ni les guerriers ni les points cardinaux—à plus forte raison les directions intermédiaires.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and practical peril of uncontrolled wrath and the fog of war: in violent turmoil, clarity of perception collapses—identity and direction become uncertain—so actions taken in anger can easily become indiscriminate and ethically hazardous.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Bhima, charging forward in anger, is halted by Ashvatthama, who showers him with many kinds of arrows from all sides. The fighting is so confused that neither warriors nor directions can be properly distinguished.