Shloka 38
कर्णभीमयुद्धम्
Karna–Bhīma Combat Report
गदां चिक्षेप सहसा धर्मपुत्राय मारिष | आर्य! क्षत्रियमर्दन द्रोणने उस कटे हुए धनुषको फेंककर सहसा धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिरपर गदा चलायी ।। तामापतन्तीं सहसा गदां दृष्टवा युधिष्ठिर:
sañjaya uvāca | gadāṃ cikṣepa sahasā dharmaputrāya mārīṣa | ārya kṣatriyamardana droṇena us kaṭe hue dhanuṣko pheṅkakara sahasā dharmaputra yudhiṣṭhira-para gadā calāyī || tām āpatantīṃ sahasā gadāṃ dṛṣṭvā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ
Sanjaya said: “O revered one, Drona suddenly hurled a mace at Dharmaputra (Yudhishthira). O noble destroyer of warriors, casting aside his severed bow, Drona in an instant launched the mace toward righteous Yudhishthira. Seeing that mace rushing upon him, Yudhishthira…”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most revered teacher-warrior can be driven by battlefield necessity into direct, forceful action; the scene highlights the tension between dharma (righteousness) and the harsh imperatives of war, where intent, duty, and consequence collide.
Sanjaya reports that Drona, after discarding his severed bow, abruptly hurls a mace at Yudhishthira (Dharmaputra). The verse ends as Yudhishthira sees the mace rushing toward him, setting up his immediate reaction in the next line/verse.