Shloka 12

Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption

Devanagari script

ततो भीमो महाबाहु: क्षुराभ्यां भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

tato bhīmo mahābāhuḥ kṣurābhyāṃ bharatarṣabha

Translation

Lalu Bhima yang berlengan perkasa, wahai banteng di antara Bharata, mengangkat senjata setajam silet—seakan pertarungan berbelok ke arah yang menentukan dan tanpa belas kasihan.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थान/काल/अनन्तरार्थे)

• भीमः: Bhima
• भीमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महाबाहुः: mighty-armed
• महाबाहुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• क्षुराभ्याम्: with two razors / razor(-like weapons)
• क्षुराभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, द्विवचन

• भरतर्षभ: O bull of the Bharatas (best of the Bharatas)
• भरतर्षभ: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतर्षभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīma
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the address bharatarṣabha)
• kṣura (razor-like weapon/blade)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights how, in war, a warrior’s duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can drive him toward increasingly severe means; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between necessary force and the loss of restraint when conflict escalates.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, famed for strength, now acts decisively by employing razor-sharp weapons—an indication that the battle is intensifying and that Bhīma is about to strike with lethal precision.