Shloka 45
दुर्योधन–द्रोणसंवादः
Arjuna-vīrya-prasaṃśā and renewed battle formation
सयक्षराक्षसगणं सभूतभुजगद्धिपम् । निःशेषमस्त्रवीर्येण कुर्वाते भीमफाल्गुनौ
sa-yakṣa-rākṣasa-gaṇaṁ sa-bhūta-bhujagādhipam | niḥśeṣam astra-vīryeṇa kurvāte bhīma-phālgunau ||
Kṛpa said: “Along with the hosts of Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, together with spirits and the lord of serpents, Bhīma and Phālguna (Arjuna) are reducing them all to nothing by the sheer might of their weapons.”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming efficacy of disciplined martial skill (astra-vīrya) in war, while implicitly reminding that unchecked power can lead to total annihilation—an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata’s war narrative.
Kṛpa reports that Bhīma and Arjuna are annihilating opposing forces so thoroughly that even supernatural allies—Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, spirits, and the serpent-lord—are being wiped out by their weapon-power.