Shloka 18
भीमकर्णसमागमः | Bhīma–Karṇa Encounter
अस्मिन् हते त्वया सैन्यमनाथं भिद्यतामिदम् | वैरस्यास्यास्त्ववभूथो मूलं छिन्धि दुरात्मनाम्,इसके मारे जानेपर अनाथ हुई इस कौरव-सेनाका संहार करो, दुरात्माओंकी जड़ काट डालो, जिससे इस वैररूपी यज्ञका अन्त होकर अवभृूथस्नानका अवसर प्राप्त हो
asmin hate tvayā sainyam anāthaṁ bhidyatām idam | vairasyāsyās tv avabhūtho mūlaṁ chindhi durātmanām ||
“Now that he has been slain by you, let this Kaurava host—left without its protector—be shattered. Cut off the very root of these wicked men, so that this sacrifice of enmity may reach its conclusion and the final cleansing, like the avabhṛtha bath, may be attained.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the destruction of a tyrannical force as a dharmic necessity once its protector is gone: do not stop at a partial victory—remove the root cause of adharma so the cycle of hostility can truly end. The ritual image of avabhṛtha suggests closure and purification after a grim but duty-bound act.
Vāyudeva urges the warrior addressed (implicitly Bhīma, after a key enemy’s fall) to press the advantage: the Kaurava army is now leaderless and vulnerable, so it should be broken decisively. He also interprets the ongoing feud as a sacrificial rite of enmity nearing its completion.