Shloka 28
श्येनवद् विचरन् भीमो गदाहस्तो महाबल: । पञ्चविंशतिसाहस्रांस्तावकान् समपोथयत्,हाथमें गदा लिये बाजके समान विचरते हुए महाबली भीमसेनने आपके उन पचीसों हजार सैनिकोंको मार गिराया
śyenavad vicarann bhīmo gadāhasto mahābalaḥ | pañcaviṃśatisāhasrāṃs tāvakān samapothayat ||
Sañjaya said: Mighty Bhīma, mace in hand, ranged through the battlefield like a hawk in swift, circling flight, and he crushed twenty-five thousand of your warriors. The image underscores the ruthless momentum of war, where personal valor becomes a force that overwhelms masses, raising the ethical tension between kṣatriya-duty in battle and the tragic cost in lives.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the terrifying efficiency of martial prowess in war and implicitly points to the ethical gravity of kṣatriya-duty: even when fighting is framed as duty, the destruction of vast numbers reveals war’s tragic moral weight.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma, wielding his mace and moving like a hawk across the field, crushes twenty-five thousand Kaurava soldiers, indicating a major surge of Pāṇḍava dominance in that phase of the battle.