Shloka 35
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements
ते तु तं वै समासाद्य परिवद्रु: समन््ततः,वे योद्धा भीमसेनके पास पहुँचकर उन्हें चारों ओरसे घेरकर खड़े हो गये। तब जैसे इन्द्र असुरोंको नष्ट करते हैं, उसी प्रकार घिरे हुए भीमसेनने पैने बाणोंद्वारा आपके उन समस्त सैनिकोंको पीड़ित करना आरम्भ किया
te tu taṃ vai samāsādya parivavruḥ samantataḥ | tato yoddhā bhīmasenam upetya paryavārayann | sa parivṛto bhīmasenas tīkṣṇaiḥ śaraiḥ samantataḥ | indro yathāsurān ghnan vai tathā tān pīḍayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: Those warriors, having reached Bhīmasena, surrounded him on every side. Then, encircled in battle, Bhīmasena began to harass and crush all those troops of yours with sharp arrows—just as Indra destroys the Asuras. The scene underscores the fierce momentum of combat, where courage and martial skill surge even amid overwhelming odds, and where the narrator frames Bhīma’s onslaught through a cosmic, morally charged comparison to Indra’s victory over demonic forces.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfast valor and effective action under pressure: even when surrounded, a warrior committed to his duty can respond with focused skill. The Indra–Asura comparison also frames the conflict in moral-cosmic terms, suggesting that force in war is evaluated through the lens of dharmic alignment as perceived by the narrator.
Kaurava warriors close in and surround Bhīma from all sides. Despite being encircled, Bhīma counters immediately, wounding and driving back the surrounding troops with volleys of sharp arrows, likened to Indra’s destruction of the Asuras.