Shloka 28
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
प्रहसन् प्रतिजग्राह द्रोणपुत्रो महारणे । शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने उस महासमरमें उन पाण्डव महारथियोंको क्रोधपूर्वक आक्रमण करते देख हँसते हुए उनका सामना किया ।। तत:ः शरशतज्वाल: सेनाकक्षं महारथ:
sañjaya uvāca |
prahasan pratijagrāha droṇaputro mahāraṇe |
śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-dena-vāle droṇaputra aśvatthāmāne tasmin mahāsamare tān pāṇḍava-mahārathīn krodhapūrvakam ākrāmataḥ dṛṣṭvā haṃsate huye tānām samānaṃ kṛtavān ||
tataḥ śara-śata-jvālāḥ senā-kakṣaṃ mahārathaḥ
Dalam pertempuran besar itu, putra Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā—penyiksa musuh—melihat para mahārathi Pāṇḍava maju dengan amarah, lalu menyambut serbuan mereka sambil tertawa. Kemudian sang mahārathi, menyala oleh ratusan panah, menerobos hingga ke dalam lingkar pertahanan pasukan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger and pride can harden into contempt (symbolized by laughter) and intensify violence; it implicitly warns that in war, inner states like wrath shape outward action and its moral consequences, even within the frame of kṣatriya duty.
Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, sees the Pāṇḍava great warriors attacking in anger and confronts them confidently, even mockingly; he then unleashes a fierce barrage of arrows and drives into the army’s protected formation, marking a heightened phase of combat.