Shloka 15
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
स तु क़ुद्धस्ततो राजन्नाशीविष इव श्वसन् । सात्यकिं पज्चविंशत्या प्रत्यविध्यच्छिलीमुखै:,राजन्! तब क्रोधमें भरकर विषधर सर्पके समान फुफकारते हुए अअभश्वत्थामाने सात्यकिको पचीस बाणोंसे घायल करके बदला चुकाया
sa tu kuddhas tato rājann āśīviṣa iva śvasan | sātyakiṃ pañcaviṃśatyā pratyavidhyac chilīmukhaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, O King, he—enraged—hissed like a venomous serpent; and in retaliation he pierced Sātyaki with twenty-five sharp arrows. The scene underscores how wrath in battle quickly turns into a cycle of reprisal, where skill and courage are driven by anger rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) in warfare fuels retaliatory violence: one injury provokes another, intensifying conflict and eclipsing restraint. Even within kṣatriya conduct, the narrative warns that wrath easily becomes the driver of action, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of retribution.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior, furious and hissing like a venomous serpent, retaliates against Sātyaki by piercing him with twenty-five sharp arrows, marking a fierce exchange in the Karṇa Parva battle sequence.