Shloka 26
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
जघान पज्चभिर्बाणै: पञ्चैवातिरथान् बली । जैसे वर्षाके वेगसे पर्वत आहत होता है, उसी प्रकार उनके नाराचोंसे घायल होकर बलवान् भीमसेनने अपने पाँच बाणोंद्वारा उन पाँचों अतिरथी वीरोंको मार डाला ।। २५६ || तान् दृष्टवा निहतान् वीरान् विचेलुर्नृपसत्तमा:
sañjaya uvāca |
jaghāna pañcabhir bāṇaiḥ pañcaivātirathān balī |
tān dṛṣṭvā nihatān vīrān vicelur nṛpasattamāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The mighty Bhīmasena struck down five foremost chariot-warriors with five arrows. Seeing those heroes slain, the best of kings were shaken and wavered—an image of how, in the fury of battle, even the proud and powerful lose steadiness when confronted with sudden, decisive death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of confidence and status in war: even ‘the best of kings’ can lose composure when confronted with swift, decisive destruction. It implicitly underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension—kṣatriya duty demands fighting, yet the spectacle of death destabilizes pride and certainty.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, using five arrows, kills five elite chariot-warriors (ātirathas). Witnessing these deaths, the leading kings on the battlefield become shaken and unsteady.