Shloka 32
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
क्षेमधूर्तिस्तदा भीमं तोमरेण स्तनान्तरे । निर्बिभेदातिवेगेन षड्भिकश्षाप्यपरैर्नदन्,उस समय क्षेमधूर्तिने भीमसेनकी छातीमें बड़े वेगसे एक तोमर धँसा दिया। फिर गर्जना करते हुए उसने उन्हें छ: तोमर और मारे अन्योन्यस्य वधे चैव चक्रतुर्यत्नमुत्तमम् कैकेयस्य द्विधा चर्म ततश्रिच्छेद सात्वत:
kṣemadhūrtis tadā bhīmaṃ tomareṇa stanāntare | nirbibhedātivegena ṣaḍbhis tomaraiś cāpy aparair nadan | anyonyasya vadhe caiva cakratur yatnam uttamam | kaikeyasya dvidhā carma tataś ciccheda sātvataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Kṣemadhūrti, with tremendous force, drove a javelin into Bhīma’s chest. Roaring aloud, he struck him again with six more javelins. Both warriors then exerted their utmost effort to bring about each other’s death. Thereafter the Sātvata hero cut the Kaikeya’s armor in two.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic of unwavering effort and courage under injury, while also underscoring the grim moral weight of war: even valor becomes entangled with the intent to kill, and victory is pursued through relentless, often brutal, exertion.
Kṣemadhūrti strikes Bhīma powerfully with a tomara and follows with six more, roaring in battle. Both combatants intensify their efforts to slay each other, and the Sātvata hero then cuts the Kaikeya warrior’s protective armor into two.