Shloka 16
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्
The Tumult of Battle Described
भीमसेनो महाबाहुस्तव पुत्रस्य वै बले । महाबाहु भीमसेन रथोंसे रथियोंको, हाथियोंसे हाथी-सवारोंको, घोड़ोंकी पीठोंसे घुड़सवारोंको और पृथ्वीपर पैदलोंको मसलते हुए गदासे आपके पुत्रकी सेनाके सब लोगोंको उसी प्रकार नष्ट कर देते थे, जैसे हवा अपने वेगसे वृक्षोंको उखाड़ फेंकती है ।। सापि मज्जावसामांसै: प्रदिग्धा रुधिरेण च
bhīmaseno mahābāhus tava putrasya vai bale | rathai rathinaḥ, hastibhir hastyārohān, aśvapṛṣṭhair aśvārūḍhān, pṛthivyāṃ padātīn mṛdnann iva gadayā tava putrasya senāyāḥ sarvān janān tathā nighnanti sma, yathā vāyur vegena vṛkṣān unmūlayati || sāpi majjāvasāmāṃsaiḥ pradigdhā rudhireṇa ca
Sañjaya said: Mighty-armed Bhīmasena, in the very midst of your son’s host, crushed charioteers with chariots, elephant-riders with elephants, horsemen from the backs of horses, and foot-soldiers upon the earth; with his mace he kept destroying the men of your son’s army—just as the wind, by its force, uproots trees. And that battlefield too was smeared with marrow, fat, and flesh, and drenched with blood.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming momentum of war once unleashed: individual prowess can become a force of nature, raising an ethical tension between kṣatriya duty (fighting decisively) and the horrific human cost, underscored by the graphic imagery of blood and bodily remains.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma is rampaging through Duryodhana’s forces, crushing charioteers, elephant-riders, cavalry, and infantry with his mace, likened to a powerful wind uprooting trees; the battlefield is described as smeared with marrow, fat, flesh, and blood.