Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एवमस्त्विति राजानमुक्‍त्वा राक्षसपुज्भरव: । अभ्ययात्‌ त्वरितो भैमिं सहित: पुरुषादकैः,“अच्छा, ऐसा ही हो।' राजा दुर्योधनसे इस प्रकार कहकर राक्षसराज अलायुध तुरंत ही राक्षसोंके साथ भीमसेनपुत्र घटोत्कचके सामने गया

Transliteration

evam astv iti rājānam uktvā rākṣasapūjābharaḥ | abhyayāt tvarito bhaimiṃ sahitaḥ puruṣādakaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having told the king, “So be it,” the leader of the rākṣasas—Alāyudha—hurried forth, accompanied by man-eating rākṣasas, and advanced to confront Bhīma’s son, Ghaṭotkaca. The episode underscores the escalation of war through fearsome, adharma-leaning means—deploying predatory forces against a formidable opponent.

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this manner

अस्तुlet it be

इतिthus (quotative)

राजानम्the king

उक्त्वाhaving said

राक्षस-पूग-भरवःBharava (Alāyudha), (leader) with a troop of rākṣasas

अभ्ययात्went up to, approached

त्वरितःswift, hastened

भैमिम्the son of Bhīma (Ghaṭotkaca)

सहितःtogether with, accompanied by

पुरुषादकैःwith man-eaters (rākṣasas)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

Alāyudha

Rākṣasas

Ghaṭotkaca

Bhīma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, leaders may resort to increasingly brutal instruments—here, man-eating rākṣasas—signaling a drift toward adharma when victory is pursued through terror and predation rather than righteous means.

What is happening in the narrative?

After agreeing with Duryodhana (“So be it”), the rākṣasa chief Alāyudha quickly marches with his rākṣasa followers to face Ghaṭotkaca, Bhīma’s son, setting up a direct confrontation.