Shloka 42
स गाढविद्धो व्यथितो रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् | भृशं क्रोधेन चाविष्टो रथस्थो राक्षसाधिप:
sa gāḍhaviddho vyathito rathopastha upāviśat | bhṛśaṃ krodhena cāviṣṭo rathastho rākṣasādhipaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Deeply pierced and shaken by pain, he sank down upon the seat of his chariot. Yet, even while remaining on the chariot, the lord of the Rākṣasas was fiercely seized by anger—his suffering turning at once into wrath amid the violence of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield moral-psychological pattern: pain and injury can quickly transform into consuming anger. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical landscape, such krodha is repeatedly shown to cloud judgment and intensify violence, becoming a catalyst for further adharma and escalation.
Sañjaya describes a rākṣasa leader who has been grievously wounded. Overcome by pain, he slumps onto the chariot-seat, but instead of withdrawing, he remains on the chariot and becomes fiercely enraged, signaling a renewed, anger-driven response in the ongoing combat.