Shloka 8
तस्य भीमो हयान् हत्वा विनिहत्य च सारथिम् । प्रजहास महाहासं कृते प्रतिकृते पुन:,भीमसेनने उसके घोड़ों और सारथिको मारकर उसके प्रहारका बदला चुका लेनेके पश्चात् पुनः बड़े जोरसे अट्टहास किया
tasya bhīmo hayān hatvā vinihatya ca sārathim | prajahāsa mahāhāsaṃ kṛte pratikṛte punaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīma, having slain his horses and also killed his charioteer, laughed aloud with a mighty roar once again—having repaid blow for blow. The verse underscores the grim reciprocity of battlefield ethics, where retaliation is framed as a settled counter-deed even as it intensifies the cycle of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield logic of pratikāra (counter-action): retaliation is presented as ‘repayment’ of an earlier strike. Ethically, it reflects how kṣatriya warfare can normalize reciprocal violence, even as it deepens enmity and suffering.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma disables an opponent’s chariot by killing the horses and the charioteer, and then, having answered the opponent’s attack with a counter-attack, he lets out a thunderous laugh again.