Shloka 9

Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements

Devanagari script

ततः क्रुद्धो रणे भीम: शिरो दुर्मर्षणस्य ह

Transliteration

tataḥ kruddho raṇe bhīmaḥ śiro durmarṣaṇasya ha

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian, di tengah gelanggang perang, Bhīma yang menyala oleh amarah menumbangkan kepala Durmarṣaṇa—demikianlah hukum keras peperangan, apabila murka dan dendam mengheret manusia kepada tindakan yang muktamad dan tidak dapat ditarik kembali.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

क्रुद्धःangry

रणेin battle

भीमःBhima

शिरःhead

दुर्मर्षणस्यof Durmarshana

हindeed (emphatic particle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīma

Durmarṣaṇa

battlefield (raṇa)

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 how, in war, uncontrolled anger can become the immediate motive force behind lethal action; it implicitly contrasts the warrior’s duty to fight with the ethical danger of being driven primarily by wrath and revenge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, enraged on the battlefield, cuts off (or strikes down) the head of the Kaurava prince Durmarṣaṇa, marking a decisive killing in the ongoing Kurukṣetra conflict.