Shloka 22
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
आयसेन स दण्डेन रथान् नागान् नरान् हयान् | हनिष्यति रणे क्रुद्धो रौद्र: क्रूरपराक्रम:
āyasena sa daṇḍena rathān nāgān narān hayān | haniṣyati raṇe kruddho raudraḥ krūraparākramaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra berkata: “Di medan laga, saat murka, Bhīmasena yang mengerikan itu—ganas dalam keberanian—akan mengayunkan gada besi dan membantai kereta-keretaku, gajah, prajurit pejalan kaki, dan kuda.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical recoil of unjust conflict: when rulers fail to restrain adharma, war’s violence becomes unavoidable, and even the powerful are consumed by fear of the destruction they helped set in motion.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra voices anxiety about Bhīma’s battlefield fury, imagining him wielding an iron club to annihilate the Kaurava forces—chariots, elephants, infantry, and horses—once the war erupts.