Shloka 206

भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः

The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat

Devanagari script

प्रणेदु: सर्वभूतानि बभूवुस्तिमिरा दिश: । इधर सहस्रों हाथी और सैकड़ों भूमिपाल अर्जुनके बाणोंके पथमें आकर किसी प्रकार आगे न बढ़ सके। समस्त प्राणी आर्तनाद करने लगे और सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें अन्धकार छा गया

Transliteration

praṇeduḥ sarvabhūtāni babhūvus timirā diśaḥ |

Translation

सर्व प्राणी आर्तनाद करू लागले आणि सर्व दिशांना जणू अंधार पसरला। सहस्रों हत्ती व शेकडो राजे अर्जुनाच्या बाणांच्या मार्गात येताच पुढे सरकू शकले नाहीत।

Word by Word

प्रणेदुःcried out, wailed

सर्वभूतानिall beings

बभूवुःbecame, came to be

तिमिराःdark (with darkness)

दिशःdirections, quarters

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna

elephants

kings (bhūmipālas)

Arjuna’s arrows

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the pervasive suffering caused by warfare: when martial power is unleashed, its effects spread beyond combatants to ‘all beings,’ producing fear, confusion, and a moral atmosphere likened to darkness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Arjuna’s arrows create such devastation that masses of elephants and many kings cannot advance; the battlefield fills with cries of distress and the directions appear darkened—an image of chaos and overwhelming force.