Shloka 21
तानापतत एवाशु भीमसेनो महारथ:,महारथी भीमसेनने उनके आते ही शीघ्रतापूर्वक एक-एक बाण मारकर आपके सभी पुत्रोंको युद्धमें धराशायी कर दिया। वे मारे जाकर आँधीके उखाड़े हुए वृक्षोंके समान पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
tān āpatata evāśu bhīmaseno mahārathaḥ
Sañjaya said: As they rushed in, Bhīmasena—the great chariot-warrior—swiftly struck down all your sons in battle, felling each with a single arrow. Slain, they collapsed upon the earth like trees torn up by a violent storm—an image of war’s ruthless finality and the tragic cost of kṣatriya conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethical tension of kṣatriya-dharma: extraordinary martial skill is praised, yet its exercise produces irreversible loss. The storm-uprooted-tree simile highlights how quickly life and lineage can be destroyed once war’s momentum takes hold.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as his sons charged, Bhīma rapidly shot them down—each with a single arrow—so that they fell dead to the ground like trees uprooted by a gale.