Shloka 226
घोरं रूपमथो कृत्वा भीमसेनमभाषत । भीमसेनके धनुषसे छूटे हुए बाणोंद्वारा समरभूमिमें घायल होकर और महात्मा पाण्डुकुमार भीमके द्वारा किये गये अपने भाईके वधका स्मरण करके उस राक्षसने भयंकर रूप धारण कर लिया और भीमसेनसे कहा--
ghoraṃ rūpam atho kṛtvā bhīmasenam abhāṣata | bhīmasenena dhanuṣaś cyutaiḥ śaraiḥ samare bhagnāṅgo mahātmā pāṇḍukumāra-bhīmena kṛtasya sva-bhrātuḥ vadhāṃ smṛtvā sa rākṣaso bhayaṅkaraṃ rūpaṃ dhṛtvā bhīmasenam uvāca ||
Sañjaya said: Assuming a dreadful form, the rākṣasa addressed Bhīmasena. Wounded on the battlefield by arrows released from Bhīma’s bow, and recalling the slaying of his own brother at the hands of the great-souled Bhīma, the son of Pāṇḍu, he took on a terrifying appearance and spoke to Bhīmasena.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how injury and the memory of a loved one’s death can inflame anger and drive one toward fearsome, retaliatory intent—showing the moral danger of vengeance in war even when framed within battlefield duty.
A rākṣasa, wounded by Bhīma’s arrows and remembering that Bhīma had killed his brother, becomes enraged, assumes a terrifying form, and begins to speak to Bhīmasena—signaling an imminent confrontation.