Shloka 14
Droṇa Encircled at Night: Coalition Advance and Battlefield Omens (द्रोणपर्यावरणं रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
आलकभ्य मड़लान्यष्टौ पीत्वा कैरातकं मधु । द्विगुणद्रविणो वीरो मदरक्तान्तलोचन:,तदनन्तर पूजित एवं संतुष्टचित्त हुए ब्राह्मणोंकी परिक्रमा करके आठः प्रकारकी मांगलिक वस्तुओंका स्पर्श करनेके पश्चात् भीमसेनने कैरातक मधुका पान किया। फिर तो वीर भीमसेनका बल और उत्साह दुगुना हो गया, उनके नेत्र मदसे लाल हो गये थे
sañjaya uvāca |
ālakhabhya maṇḍalāny aṣṭau pītvā kairātakaṃ madhu |
dviguṇadraviṇo vīro madaraktāntalocanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: After duly touching the eight auspicious ritual emblems, Bhīmasena drank the Kairātaka honey-mead. Thereupon that hero’s strength and ardor became doubled, and his eyes grew red within from intoxication—an episode that underscores how ritual sanction and intoxicants are invoked to heighten martial ferocity on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a wartime practice where ritual auspiciousness and stimulants are used to intensify a warrior’s fighting capacity. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between dharma’s restraint and the battlefield’s escalation, where even sanctioned rites can serve violent ends.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīmasena, after performing an auspicious preliminary act (touching eight ritual emblems), drinks a potent honey-mead called Kairātaka. As a result, his vigor becomes doubled and his eyes redden from intoxication, signaling heightened battle-readiness.