Shloka 22
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
व्यावृत्तनयन: क्रुद्ध: प्रमथन्निव पाण्डवम् । वृकोदररथं साश्वमविशेषमचूर्णयत्,उसके नेत्र सब ओर घूम रहे थे। वह क्रोधमें भरकर पाण्डुनन्दन भीमसेनको मानो मथ डालेगा, इस भावसे भीमसेनके रथकी ओर दौड़ा और उसे घोड़ोंसहित सामान्यतः: चूर्ण कर दिया
vyāvṛtta-nayanaḥ kruddhaḥ pramathann iva pāṇḍavam | vṛkodara-rathaṃ sāśvam aviśeṣam acūrṇayat ||
Matanya berputar ke segala arah; diliputi amarah, seakan hendak menghancurkan sang Pāṇḍava, ia menerjang kereta Vṛkodara dan meremukkannya bersama kuda-kudanya tanpa pandang bulu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked krodha (anger) drives one toward indiscriminate destruction—here, not only targeting the warrior but also annihilating the instruments of war (chariot and horses). In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, such rage is a force that eclipses discernment (viveka) and accelerates adharma-like excess even within a battlefield setting.
Sañjaya reports that an enraged warrior, eyes roving with agitation, charges at Bhīma (Vṛkodara) and crushes Bhīma’s chariot along with its horses, effectively disabling his immediate battlefield mobility.