Shloka 38
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
तमभ्यधावद् द्विरदं भीमो भीमस्य नागराट् । महावातेरितं मेघं वातोद्धूत इवाम्बुद:,जैसे आँधीके उड़ाये हुए मेघके पीछे वायुप्रेरित दूसरा मेघ जा रहा हो, उसी प्रकार भीमसेनका भयंकर गजराज क्षेमधूर्तिके उस हाथीका पीछा करने लगा सा वध्यमाना समरे केकयानां महाचमू: । तमुत्सृज्य रणे शत्रु प्रदुद्राव दिशो दश समरभूमिमें मारी जाती हुई केकयोंकी वह विशाल सेना रणमें शत्रुको त्यागकर दसों दिशाओंमें भाग गयी
sañjaya uvāca |
tam abhyadhāvad dviradaṃ bhīmo bhīmasya nāgarāṭ |
mahāvāteritaṃ meghaṃ vātoddhūta ivāmbudaḥ ||
sā vadhyamānā samare kekayānāṃ mahācamūḥ |
tam utsṛjya raṇe śatruṃ pradudrāva diśo daśa ||
Sanjaya said: Bhima’s lordly elephant charged after that elephant, just as one cloud, driven by the wind, pursues another cloud hurled onward by a great gale. Meanwhile, the vast Kekaya host, being cut down on the battlefield, abandoned the enemy in the fight and fled in all ten directions. The passage underscores how, when leadership and cohesion collapse under fear and slaughter, even a great army can lose its resolve and scatter—while relentless pursuit in war magnifies panic and rout.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth of warfare: when fear and losses overwhelm discipline, even a large force collapses into disorder. Conversely, relentless pursuit intensifies panic. Implicitly, it points to the ethical weight of leadership—armies depend on steadiness and cohesion, and once these fail, destruction and flight follow.
Bhima’s powerful elephant rushes after an opposing elephant, compared to wind-driven clouds chasing one another. At the same time, the Kekaya troops, being heavily struck down in battle, abandon the fight and scatter in all directions.