Shloka 17
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
सुयोधने कौरवेन्द्रे खाण्डवेडग्निमिवार्जुन: । शल्यमपद्योद्धरिष्यामि तव पाण्डव हृच्छयम्,'भैया! यह मन्दबुद्धि दुर्योधन रणभूमिमें मुझे किसी प्रकार परास्त नहीं कर सकता। आज मैं अपने हृदयमें चिरकालसे छिपाये हुए क्रोधको कौरवराज दुर्योधनपर उसी प्रकार छोड़ूँगा, जैसे अर्जुनने खाण्डववनमें अग्निको छोड़ा था। पाण्डुनन्दन! आज आपके हृदयका काँटा मैं निकाल दूँगा
sañjaya uvāca |
suyodhane kauravendre khāṇḍave ’gnim ivārjunaḥ |
śalyam apadyoddhariṣyāmi tava pāṇḍava hṛcchayam ||
Sañjaya said: “Against Suyodhana, the lord of the Kurus, I shall unleash my long-concealed wrath—just as Arjuna once released the fire in the Khāṇḍava forest. O Pāṇḍava, I will remove the thorn lodged in your heart.” In ethical tone, the verse frames Bhīma’s vow as a decisive act meant to end a lingering inner torment (the ‘thorn’ of humiliation and unresolved injustice), while also revealing how anger, even when directed toward a perceived wrongdoer, becomes a powerful and dangerous fuel in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unresolved injustice can become a ‘thorn in the heart’ that demands closure; yet it also shows the moral tension of using anger as motivation. In the epic’s ethical landscape, decisive action may be framed as duty and relief from suffering, but the imagery warns that wrath, once unleashed, resembles an uncontrollable fire.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s resolve (contextually Bhīma’s) to confront Duryodhana decisively. He compares his impending outburst of long-held anger to Arjuna’s role in the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest, and promises to remove the Pāṇḍava’s inner pain—symbolized as a thorn lodged in the heart.