Shloka 36
अध्याय ८० — मध्यंदिन-रणवृत्तान्तः
Yudhiṣṭhira–Śrutāyu encounter; Cekitāna–Gautama clash; Abhimanyu pressure; Arjuna’s redeployment
ततः कृतास्त्रास्ते सर्वे परिवार्य वृकोदरम् | अभीता: समवर्तन्त शस्त्रवृष्ट्या परंतप
tataḥ kṛtāstrās te sarve parivārya vṛkodaram | abhītāḥ samavartanta śastravṛṣṭyā parantapa ||
तदनन्तर अस्त्रविद्या में निपुण वे सब योद्धा वृकोदर (भीम) को चारों ओर से घेरकर, निर्भय होकर, अस्त्र-शस्त्रों की वर्षा करते हुए उस पर टूट पड़े।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of the kṣatriya sphere: disciplined skill (kṛtāstra) joined to fearlessness (abhīta) drives direct engagement. It also implicitly warns how collective aggression and encirclement can intensify violence, testing a warrior’s steadiness and resolve.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava fighters, proficient with weapons, close in from all sides around Bhīma (Vṛkodara) and attack him together, pelting him with a dense barrage of weapons as they charge.