Shloka 25
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
अभिद्र॒त्य शरैस्तीकणैरभीमसेनमताडयन् । महारथी शतचन्द्रके मारे जानेपर अमर्षमें भरे हुए शकुनिके वीर भाई गवाक्ष, शरभ, विभु, सुभग और भानुदत्त--ये पाँच शूर महारथी भीमसेनपर टूट पड़े और उन्हें पैने बाणोंद्वारा घायल करने लगे || २३-२४ $ ।। स ताड्यमानो नाराचैरवृष्टिवेगैरिवाचल:
abhidratya śarais tīkṣṇair bhīmasenam atāḍayan | mahārathī śatacandrake māre jānepar amarṣaṁ bhare hue śakunike vīra bhrātā gavākṣaḥ śarabhaḥ vibhuḥ subhagaḥ bhānudattaś ca—ete pañca śūrā mahārathino bhīmasenapar tūṭa pade, taṁ ca painaiḥ bāṇair vyathayām āsuḥ || sa tāḍyamāno nārācair vṛṣṭivegair ivācalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Rushing forward, they struck Bhīmasena with sharp arrows. When Śatacandra had been slain, Śakuni’s valiant brothers—Gavākṣa, Śarabha, Vibhu, Subhaga, and Bhānudatta—five heroic mahārathas, surged upon Bhīma in wrath and began to wound him with keen shafts. Yet, though battered by heavy iron arrows, he stood unmoved—like a mountain lashed by the force of rain.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights steadfastness under assault: even when struck by powerful weapons and surrounded by enraged foes, a true hero does not lose composure. Ethically, it also shows how grief and clan-loyalty can harden into amarṣa (indignant rage), escalating violence rather than restoring balance.
After Śatacandra is killed, Śakuni’s brothers—five mahārathas—attack Bhīma together, showering him with sharp arrows and heavy nārācas. Bhīma, though wounded, remains firm and unshaken, compared to a mountain enduring a driving rain.