Shloka 49
ततः सुबलपुत्रस्य नागानतिबलान् पुनः । पोथयामास कौन्तेयो द्विपज्चाशदरिंदम:,तत्पश्चात् शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले कुन्तीकुमार भीमने सुबलपुत्र शकुनिके अत्यन्त बलवान् बावन हाथियोंको मार गिराया
tataḥ subalaputrasya nāgān atibalān punaḥ | pothayāmāsa kaunteyo dvipapañcāśad arindamaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then the son of Kuntī—Bhīma, the subduer of foes—again crushed and brought down fifty-two exceedingly powerful elephants belonging to Śakuni, the son of Subala. The scene underscores the brutal arithmetic of war, where martial prowess is displayed through the destruction of formidable war-assets, even as the moral weight of such slaughter hangs over the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of dharma in wartime: a warrior’s duty (kṣatriya-dharma) can demand decisive force against enemy formations, yet the narrative also invites reflection on the moral burden of mass killing and the dehumanizing calculus of victory.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, famed as an enemy-subduer, again attacks and crushes a contingent of Śakuni’s powerful war-elephants, felling fifty-two of them in the ongoing battle.