Shloka 136
दुःशासनवधः (Duḥśāsana-vadha) — Bhīma’s vow-fulfillment in combat
प्रभिन्न इव मातड़्रो रुधिरेण परिप्लुत: । सहदेवके बाणोंसे विद्ध होकर दुर्योधन अनेक शिखरोंवाले पर्वतके समान सुशोभित हुआ। खूनसे लथपथ होकर वह मदकी धारा बहानेवाले मदमत्त हाथीके समान जान पड़ता था
sañjaya uvāca | prabhinna iva mātaṅgo rudhireṇa pariplutaḥ | sahadevakabāṇair viddho duryodhanaḥ anekaśikharavān parvata iva suśobhitah | khūnasaṃliptas sa madakīdhārāṃ vahantīva madamattaḥ hastīva babhāse |
Sanjaya said: Pierced by Sahadeva’s arrows, Duryodhana—soaked in blood—appeared like a wounded elephant. Though struck and drenched, he still stood out on the battlefield, resembling a many-peaked mountain in grim splendor. Blood streaming from his body made him seem like an intoxicated tusker letting its rut-fluid flow—an image that underscores the ferocity of war and the hardening of resolve amid suffering.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the brutal reality of war: even when grievously wounded, a warrior’s outward ‘splendor’ can persist, but it is a grim magnificence born of violence. It invites reflection on how pride and resolve can harden amid suffering, and how battlefield glory is inseparable from bloodshed and its moral cost.
Sanjaya describes Duryodhana after he has been pierced by Sahadeva’s arrows. Duryodhana is drenched in blood yet still appears formidable—likened to a many-peaked mountain and to a wounded, musth-elephant with fluid streaming—emphasizing his battered but imposing presence in the battle.