Shloka 54
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
तदनन्तर चर्ममय आवरणोंसे युक्त पाँच सौ रथ घर्घराहटकी आवाज फैलाते हुए चारों ओरसे भीमसेनपर चढ़ आये और बाणसमूहोंद्वारा उन्हें घायल करने लगे ।। तान् स पञ्चशतान् वीरान् सपताकध्वजायुधान् । पोथयामास गदया भीमो विष्णुरिवासुरान्,जैसे भगवान् विष्णु असुरोंका संहार करते हैं, उसी प्रकार भीमसेनने पताका, ध्वज और आयुधोंसहित उन पाँच सौ रथी वीरोंको गदाके आघातसे चूर-चूर कर डाला
sañjaya uvāca |
tad-anantaraṁ carma-maya-āvaraṇaiḥ yuktaḥ pañca-śataṁ rathāḥ ghargharāhaṭa-śabdaṁ vistārayan sarvataḥ bhīmasenam abhyadravan bāṇa-samūhaiś ca taṁ vyathayan |
tān sa pañca-śatān vīrān sa-patāka-dhvajāyudhān |
poṭhayāmāsa gadayā bhīmo viṣṇur ivāsurān ||
Sañjaya said: Thereafter, five hundred chariots, fitted with hide-and-armor coverings, surged in from every side with a rumbling clatter and began to wound Bhīmasena with volleys of arrows. Bhīma, however, smashed those five hundred heroic chariot-warriors—together with their banners, standards, and weapons—by the blows of his mace, just as Lord Viṣṇu destroys the Asuras. The scene underscores the ferocity of battle and the overwhelming force that a single resolute champion can wield when duty and wrath converge on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness under assault: even when surrounded and wounded, a warrior must hold firm to duty and protect his side. The comparison to Viṣṇu’s destruction of Asuras frames Bhīma’s force as a righteous, order-restoring power within the epic’s moral universe, while also reminding the reader of the terrible cost and intensity of dharma-yuddha.
A coordinated Kaurava force—five hundred chariots with protective coverings—charges Bhīma from all directions and showers him with arrows. Bhīma counters at close quarters, using his mace to crush the chariots and their warriors, breaking their banners and weapons, and annihilating the entire contingent.