Shloka 27

Adhyāya 92: Irāvanta-śoka, punaḥ-pravṛttiḥ saṅgrāmasya

Arjuna’s grief and the battle’s renewed intensity

Devanagari script

इसी प्रकार महाबली भीमसेन क्रोधमें भरे हुए दूसरे कालके समान कौरव सैनिकोंका घोर संहार करने लगे ।। वध्यतां तत्र सैन्यानामन्योन्येन महारणे । प्रावर्तत नदी घोरा रुधिरौघप्रवाहिनी,उस महायुद्धमें परस्पर मारकाट करनेवाले सैनिकोंकी रक्तराशिको प्रवाहित करनेवाली एक भयंकर नदी बह चली

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | evaṃvidhaṃ mahābalī bhīmasenaḥ krodhabhṛtaḥ dvitīyaḥ kāla iva kaurava-sainyasya ghoraṃ saṃhāraṃ cakāra | vadhyatāṃ tatra sainyānām anyonyena mahāraṇe | prāvartata nadī ghorā rudhiraugha-pravāhinī ||

Translation

अशा रीतीने क्रोधाने भरलेला महाबली भीमसेन दुसऱ्या काळासारखा कौरवसेनेचा घोर संहार करू लागला. त्या महायुद्धात, परस्पर वध करणाऱ्या सैन्यांच्या रक्तप्रवाहाने जणू एक भयानक नदी वाहू लागली.

Word by Word

वध्यताम्let (them) be slain

तत्रthere

सैन्यानाम्of the armies/soldiers

अन्योन्येनmutually, by one another

महारणेin the great battle

प्रावर्ततarose/began/started (to flow)

नदीa river

घोराterrible

रुधिरौघप्रवाहिनीcarrying a stream-flood of blood

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Bhimasena (Bhima)

Kaurava army

Kāla (Death/Time)

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 moral peril of anger in war: when krodha dominates, a warrior can resemble Kāla—an impersonal force of destruction. It serves as a warning about how quickly ethical restraint collapses amid collective violence, even within the framework of kṣatriya-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Bhima, enraged, devastating the Kaurava troops. The mutual slaughter becomes so intense that it is poetically depicted as a dreadful river flowing with torrents of blood across the battlefield.