Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तथापरेणास्य जहार यन्तुः कायाच्छिर: संहननीयमध्यात्‌ । जघान चाश्चां श्वतुरः सुशीघ्र॑ तथा भृशं कुपितो भीमसेन:

Transliteration

tathāpareṇāsya jahāra yantuḥ kāyāc chiraḥ saṃhananīyamadhyāt | jaghāna cāśvāṃ śvaturaḥ suśīghraṃ tathā bhṛśaṃ kupito bhīmasenaḥ ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: Затем ещё одним ударом возничий отсёк ему голову от тела у самой шеи. И Бхимасена, яростно разгневанный, стремительно сразил также и четырёх коней. Эта сцена подчёркивает беспощадный разгон войны: гнев рождает быструю, решительную жестокость, и даже опорные элементы боя — возничий и кони — уничтожаются, чтобы полностью лишить врага возможности сражаться.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

अपरेणwith another (weapon/means)

अस्यof him

जहारtook away, carried off

यन्तुःof the charioteer

कायात्from the body

शिरःhead

संहननीय-मध्यात्from the stout/compact middle (trunk/waist)

जघानslew, struck down

चand

अश्वान्horses

श्वतुरःthe four (team of four horses)

सु-शीघ्रम्very swiftly

तथाlikewise, thus

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

कुपितःenraged

भीमसेनःBhimasena

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

भ

भीमसेन (Bhīmasena/Bhīma)

य

यन्तृ (charioteer)

अ

अश्व (horses)

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 anger (krodha) accelerates destructive action in war, and how combat often targets not only the main warrior but also the chariot-system—driver and horses—to render the opponent helpless. Ethically, it reflects the grim reality of battlefield duty where tactical disabling can override compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a charioteer severs a man’s head at the neck with another blow, and then Bhīmasena—furiously enraged—swiftly kills the four horses, effectively crippling the enemy’s chariot and mobility.