Shloka 28
द्रोणानीकाभिमुखगमनम्
Abhimanyu advances toward Droṇa’s host
यदि चैकरथेनाहं समग्रं क्षत्रमण्डलम् | न करोम्यष्टधा युद्धे न भवाम्यर्जुनात्मज:
yadi caikarathenāhaṁ samagraṁ kṣatramaṇḍalam | na karomy aṣṭadhā yuddhe na bhavāmy arjunātmajaḥ ||
Bhima declares a fierce vow: if, even while fighting from a single chariot, he does not shatter the entire circle of Kshatriya warriors into eight divisions on the battlefield, then he renounces the very identity of being Arjuna’s son. The utterance is a warrior’s oath meant to steel resolve and intimidate the enemy, yet it also reveals the ethical tension of war—where honor, lineage, and duty are invoked to justify extreme violence in the name of victory and protection of one’s side.
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic of taking binding vows to uphold courage and duty in battle, using honor and lineage as moral stakes; it also implicitly shows how identity and reputation are leveraged to intensify commitment in a morally fraught war.
Bhima, speaking amid the Drona Parva battle context, proclaims a boastful oath that he will, even from a single chariot, break the opposing Kshatriya host into eight divisions; failing that, he rejects the claim of being Arjuna’s son—an extreme self-imprecation meant to signal unwavering resolve.