Shloka 36
Droṇa–Arjuna Yuddha; Trigarta-Āvaraṇa; Bhīmasena Gajānīka-bheda
Droṇa and Arjuna Engage; Trigarta Containment; Bhīma Breaks the Elephant Corps
भीमसेनस्तु संक़्रुद्ध: पादरक्षान् पर:शतान् | निजघान महेष्वास: संरब्ध: शरवृष्टिभि:,तब महाधनुर्धर भीमसेनने अत्यन्त कुपित हो अपने बाणोंकी बौछारसे हाथीके पैरोंकी रक्षा करनेवाले सैकड़ों योद्धाओंको मार गिराया
sañjaya uvāca | bhīmasenas tu saṅkruddhaḥ pādarākṣān paraśatān | nijaghāna maheṣvāsaḥ saṃrabdhaḥ śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīmasena, inflamed with anger, the mighty archer, in a fierce surge of battle, struck down hundreds of enemy foot-guards—those assigned to protect the elephant’s feet—by pouring forth a rain of arrows. The verse underscores how wrath in war drives overwhelming force against even protective attendants, revealing the brutal logic of battlefield necessity and the moral tension between duty in combat and the devastation it unleashes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) amplifies destructive power in war: even those serving a protective role (elephant-foot guards) become targets when battlefield objectives demand it. It points to the moral strain within kṣatriya-duty—acting decisively in combat while recognizing the human cost and the peril of wrath-driven action.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, furious in the thick of fighting, unleashes a concentrated barrage of arrows and cuts down hundreds of enemy soldiers stationed to protect the feet of a war-elephant—an image of tactical ferocity and overwhelming force on the Kurukṣetra field.