Shloka 17
अध्याय ८८ — घटोत्कच-दुर्योधनयुद्धवर्णनम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Duryodhana Engagement
युधिष्ठिरें भीमसेनं यमौ च पार्थ कृष्णं युधि संजातकोप: । दुर्योधन: क्रोधविषो महात्मा जघान बाणैरनलप्रकाशै:,क्रोधरूपी विष उगलनेवाले महामनस्वी दुर्योधनने युधिष्ठिर, भीमसेन, नकुल, सहदेव, अर्जुन तथा श्रीकृष्णपर युद्धमें कुपित हो अग्निके समान तेजस्वी बाणोंका प्रहार किया
sañjaya uvāca |
yudhiṣṭhire bhīmasenaṃ yamau ca pārthaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ yudhi sañjātakopaḥ |
duryodhanaḥ krodhaviṣo mahātmā jaghāna bāṇair analaprakāśaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the battle, Duryodhana—his anger like a venom—rose in wrath and struck Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīmasena, the twin sons (Nakula and Sahadeva), Pārtha (Arjuna), and Kṛṣṇa with arrows blazing like fire. The scene underscores how unchecked rage, though powerful in war, functions as a moral poison that drives one to indiscriminate violence against even the foremost opponents.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights krodha (anger) as a destructive ‘poison’: in war it may amplify force, but ethically it clouds discernment and pushes one toward reckless, indiscriminate aggression—an inner failing with outward consequences.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, inflamed with rage, launches a fierce volley of fire-bright arrows against key Pāṇḍava leaders—Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Nakula, Sahadeva, Arjuna—and even Kṛṣṇa on the battlefield.