Shloka 39
Adhyāya 110: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament on Fate; Saṃjaya’s Reproof and the Princes’ Assault on Bhīma (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
ततः क्रोधाभिताम्राक्षो निर्दहन्रिव पावक: । संदधे त्वाष्ट्रमस्त्र॑ं स स्वयं त्वष्टेव मारुति:,तब वायुकुमार भीमसेनने जलानेको उद्यत हुए अग्निके समान क्रोधसे लाल आँखें करके त्वाष्ट नामक अस्त्रका संधान किया, मानो साक्षात् त्वष्टा ही उसका प्रयोग कर रहे हों
tataḥ krodhābhitāmrākṣo nirdahanr iva pāvakaḥ | sandadhe tvāṣṭram astraṃ sa svayaṃ tvaṣṭeva mārutiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian Bhīmasena, putera Māruti (Vāyu), dengan mata merah menyala kerana murka, membara seperti api yang membakar, memasang dan menyeru senjata Tvāṣṭra—seolah-olah Tvaṣṭṛ sendiri yang menggerakkannya.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger can transform a warrior’s agency into something fire-like and consuming, leading to the deployment of extraordinary, potentially indiscriminate power. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such escalation pressures the ideal of dharma-yuddha (righteous warfare) by testing restraint, proportionality, and responsibility for consequences.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, inflamed with rage and with reddened eyes, prepares and releases (or prepares to release) the Tvāṣṭra astra. The comparison suggests the weapon’s potency is so great that Bhīma appears like Tvaṣṭṛ himself wielding it.