Shloka 8
त॑ निहत्य रणे हृष्टो बृहत्क्षत्रो महारथः । सहसाभ्यपतत सैन्यं तावकं पार्थकारणात्,रणक्षेत्रमें क्षेमधूर्तिका वध करके प्रसन्न हुए महारथी बृहत्क्षत्र यूधिष्ठिरके हितके लिये सहसा आपकी सेनापर टूट पड़े
tān nihatya raṇe hṛṣṭo bṛhatkṣatro mahārathaḥ | sahasābhyapatat sainyaṃ tāvakaṃ pārthakāraṇāt ||
Sañjaya said: Having slain them in the battle and becoming elated, the great chariot-warrior Bṛhatkṣatra, for the sake of the son of Pṛthā (Yudhiṣṭhira), suddenly charged upon your army. The verse highlights how personal loyalty and perceived righteousness (acting for Yudhiṣṭhira’s welfare) intensify the ferocity of combat, even as the moral weight of killing remains implicit in the narrative.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the kṣatriya-war ethos where loyalty to one’s chosen righteous cause (here, acting for Yudhiṣṭhira/Pārtha) can drive decisive action; it also implicitly raises the ethical tension that exhilaration in victory coexists with the grave act of killing.
After killing certain foes in the fight, the warrior Bṛhatkṣatra becomes energized and, motivated by Yudhiṣṭhira’s interest, suddenly charges into Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s (Kaurava) forces, intensifying the battle.