Shloka 17
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
तान् नामृष्यत कौन्तेयो जीवमाना गता इति । अन्वीय च पुन: सर्वास्तव पुत्रानपीडयत्,परंतु वे जीवित लौट गये; यह बात भीमसेनसे नहीं सही गयी। उन्होंने पुन आपके उन सब पुत्रोंका पीछा करके उन्हें अपने बाणोंसे पीड़ित कर दिया
tān nāmṛṣyata kaunteyo jīvamānā gatā iti | anvīya ca punaḥ sarvāstava putrān apīḍayat |
Sañjaya said: Bhīmasena, the son of Kuntī, could not endure the thought that they had escaped alive. Pursuing them again, he pressed hard upon all your sons, wounding and harassing them with his arrows—driven not by restraint but by the fierce logic of battle, where letting a routed foe recover can endanger one’s own side.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the ethics of war, uncontrolled anger can intensify violence, yet tactical necessity also drives pursuit: allowing defeated enemies to withdraw safely may enable them to regroup and cause further harm. The verse highlights the tension between restraint and battlefield prudence.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma could not accept that the opposing warriors had escaped alive. He chased them again and afflicted Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons with renewed arrow-attacks.