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 berkata: “Mengikuti jejak Bhīmasena, para Kṣatriya dari Cedi, Matsya, dan Karūṣa maju ke medan laga dan menerjang para Niṣāda beserta raja-raja mereka. Maka, di antara kedua pasukan berkobarlah pertempuran yang amat dahsyat dan mengerikan—didorong oleh gelora dan kesetiaan pada pihak, nyaris tanpa ruang bagi pengekangan.”
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.