Shloka 31
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
उदक्रोशच्च संदहृष्टस्त्रासयानो वरूथिनीम् । राजन! भीमसेनने अपने विशाल खड्गसे उसके वेगपूर्वक चलाये हुए तीखे बाणके दो टुकड़े कर दिये और कलिंगोंकी सेनाको भयभीत करते हुए हर्षमें भरकर बड़े जोरसे सिंहनाद किया || ३० ह ।। कालिड्रोडथ ततः क्रुद्धो भीमसेनाय संयुगे
sañjaya uvāca | udakrośac ca saṃdahṛṣṭas trāsayāno varūthinīm | rājan bhīmasenena ātmanaḥ viśālakhadgena tasya vegapūrvakaṃ calāyitānāṃ tīkṣṇabāṇānāṃ dvau ṭukau kṛtau, kaliṅgānāṃ senāṃ bhayabhītāṃ kurvan harṣeṇa pūrṇaḥ mahābalena siṃhanādaṃ cakāra | tataḥ kruddhaḥ kaliṅgarāṭ bhīmasenāya saṃyuge ... |
Sañjaya berkata: “Dengan hati meluap gembira dan mengaum lantang, Bhīmasena menumpaskan anak-anak panah musuh yang meluru tajam dengan pedangnya yang lebar, membelahnya dua. Lalu, untuk menggoncang barisan Kaliṅga dengan ketakutan, dia dipenuhi kegirangan yang garang dan melepaskan auman singa yang dahsyat. Murka akan hal itu, raja Kaliṅga pun berpaling menghadapi Bhīmasena di tengah pertempuran.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a kṣatriya ideal: steadfast courage and skill in battle can protect one’s side and break the enemy’s morale. Yet it also shows how displays of dominance provoke anger and counterattack, reminding readers that war tends to intensify through cycles of fear, pride, and retaliation.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, exhilarated, slices the enemy’s fast-flying sharp arrows into two with his broad sword and then roars like a lion to frighten the Kalinga troops. The king of Kalinga becomes furious and advances against Bhīma in battle.