Shloka 62
पतद् रक्ष: स्वेन कायेन तूर्ण- मतिप्रमाणेन विवर्धता च । प्रियं कुर्वन् पाण्डवानां गतासु- रक्षीहिणीं तव तूर्ण जघान
patad rakṣaḥ svena kāyena tūrṇam atipramāṇena vivardhatā ca | priyaṃ kurvan pāṇḍavānāṃ gatāsur akṣīhiṇīṃ tava tūrṇaṃ jaghāna ||
Sañjaya said: The rākṣasa, hurling himself forward with his own body and swelling to an extraordinary, monstrous size, sought to do what was dear to the Pāṇḍavas. In that very rush he swiftly struck down your akṣauhiṇī host, leaving it as good as lifeless—an act of fierce loyalty that turned his own life into a weapon on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of extreme loyalty and self-offering: a warrior turns even his own body into an instrument to protect allies and fulfill what is ‘dear’ to them. It also underscores the Mahābhārata’s moral tension—valor and devotion can coexist with devastating violence, forcing reflection on the cost of war.
Sañjaya reports that a rākṣasa warrior rushes forward, enlarging himself to an extraordinary size, and in a swift assault destroys (renders lifeless) a Kaurava akṣauhiṇī division, doing so to benefit the Pāṇḍavas.