Shloka 12
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
वे चारों ओरसे नाना प्रकारके चिह्लोंसे युक्त बाण-समूहोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। नरेश्वर! उनसे पीड़ित होकर महाबली भीमसेनने पचास रथोंके साथ आये हुए आपके पुत्रोंके उन पचासों रथियोंको शीघ्र ही नष्ट कर दिया ।। विवित्सोस्तु ततः क्रुद्धो भल्लेनापाहरच्छिर: । भीमसेनो महाराज तत् पपात हतं भुवि
sañjaya uvāca |
vivitsos tu tataḥ kruddho bhallena apāharac chiraḥ |
bhīmaseno mahārāja tat papāta hataṃ bhuvi ||
Sañjaya said: Then Vivitsu (Yudhiṣṭhira), enraged, struck with a sharp bhalla-arrow and cut off the head. O King, that head fell to the ground, and Bhīmasena lay slain. The passage underscores the grim momentum of war: anger and retaliation drive swift, irreversible acts, where prowess and wrath eclipse restraint, and the cost is measured in lives and the deepening burden of adharma’s consequences on all sides.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger in war accelerates decisive, often brutal action, reminding readers that even within kṣatriya-duty the moral weight of violence and retaliation accumulates, shaping the ethical aftermath for victors and vanquished alike.
Sañjaya reports that Vivitsu (Yudhiṣṭhira), enraged, uses a bhalla-arrow to sever a head; it falls to the ground, and Bhīmasena is described as slain—depicting a rapid, lethal turn in the battle.