Shloka 35
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
चालयन् रथनागांश्व॒ संचचाल वृकोदर: । भीमसेनकी गदासे मस्तक फट जानेके कारण वे पर्वतोंके समान विशालकाय गजराज लोहूके झरने बहाते हुए वज़्के आघातसे (पंख कटे हुए) पहाड़ोंकी भाँति पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ते थे। अर्जुनके बड़े भाई पाण्डुनन्दन भीमने हाथियों, घोड़ों एवं रथोंको धराशायी कर दिया। पैदलों तथा रथियोंका संहार कर डाला। जैसे ग्वाला वनमें डंडेसे पशुओंको हाँकता है, उसी प्रकार भीमसेन रथियों और हाथियोंको खदेड़ते हुए उनका पीछा करने लगे ।। ३२ -३४३ | वैशम्पायन उवाच भारद्वाजप्रियं कर्तुमुद्यत: फाल्गुनस्तदा
cālayan rathanāgāśvān sañcacāla vṛkodaraḥ | bhīmasenakī gadāse mastaka phaṭ jāneke kāraṇa ve parvatoṃke samān viśālakāya gajarāja lohūke jharane bahāte hue vajrāghātase (pakṣa kaṭe hue) pahāṛoṃkī bhānti pṛthvīpara gira paṛte the | arjunake baṛe bhāī pāṇḍunandana bhīmne hāthiyoṃ, ghoṛoṃ evaṃ rathoṃko dharāśāyī kara diyā | paidaloṃ tathā rathiyoṃkā saṃhāra kara ḍālā | jaise gvālā vanameṃ ḍaṇḍese paśuoṃko hāṃkatā hai, usī prakāra bhīmasena rathiyoṃ aura hāthiyoṃko khadeṛte hue unakā pīchā karane lage ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Vṛkodara (Bhīma), shaking chariots, elephants, and horses, surged through the battlefield. Struck by Bhīmasena’s mace, the great elephant-kings—mountain-like in bulk—split at the head and collapsed to the earth like wingless mountains felled by a thunderbolt, streams of blood pouring forth. Pāṇḍu’s son Bhīma, Arjuna’s elder brother, brought down elephants, horses, and chariots alike, and he slaughtered foot-soldiers and chariot-warriors. Like a cowherd driving cattle through a forest with a staff, Bhīmasena chased and routed the charioteers and elephants, pressing them in relentless pursuit.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-style valor and battlefield resolve: Bhīma acts with overwhelming force to break enemy formations. Ethically, it reflects the epic’s realism about war—heroism is praised, yet the imagery of blood and collapse underscores the grave cost of violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes Bhīma charging through combat, shaking chariots, elephants, and horses. With mace-blows he fells massive elephants and destroys chariots and troops, then pursues the routed fighters like a cowherd driving cattle.