Shloka 26
यत्र यत्र स धर्मात्मा दुष्टां दृष्टिं व्यसर्जयत् । तत्र तत्र व्यशीर्यन्त तावका भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! धर्मात्मा युधिष्ठिर शिलापर तेज किये हुए कंकपत्रयुक्त एवं नाना प्रकारके पैने बाणों, भाँति-भाँतिके बहुसंख्यक भल्लों तथा शक्ति, ऋष्टि एवं मूसलोंद्वारा प्रहार करते हुए जहाँ-जहाँ क्रोधरूपी दोषसे पूर्ण दृष्टि डालते थे, वहीं-वहीं आपके सैनिक छित्न-भिन्न होकर बिखर जाते थे
sañjaya uvāca | yatra yatra sa dharmātmā duṣṭāṃ dṛṣṭiṃ vyasarjayat | tatra tatra vyaśīryanta tāvakā bharatarṣabha ||
Sanjaya said: Wherever that righteous-souled (king) cast his fierce, fault-laden glance, there and then your warriors, O bull among the Bharatas, were shattered and scattered. Thus, even amid the violence of battle, Yudhiṣṭhira’s presence—marked by moral stature yet momentarily inflamed by wrath—became a decisive force that broke the enemy’s ranks.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a person grounded in dharma can be overtaken by anger in crisis; when moral authority is joined with wrath, it becomes especially potent and destructive. The verse implicitly warns about the power—and danger—of a 'corrupted gaze' (duṣṭā dṛṣṭi), suggesting that inner states (like krodha) can decisively shape outer outcomes.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira, though known as dharmātmā, directs a fierce, anger-tinged gaze in various directions on the battlefield, and wherever he does so, the Kaurava troops break apart and scatter.