Shloka 18
Kṛṣṇa-vīrya-kathana
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s appraisal of Vāsudeva’s deeds
रोषानिलसमुद्धूतो मनोभिप्रायशीघ्रग: । मर्मातिगो बाणधरस्तुमुल: शोणितोदकै:
roṣānilasamuddhūto manobhiprāyaśīghragaḥ | marmātigo bāṇadharas tumulaḥ śoṇitodakaḥ ||
रोषानिलसमुद्धूतो मनोभिप्रायशीघ्रगः । मर्मातिगो बाणधरस्तुमुलः शोणितोदकैः ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (roṣa) functions like a driving wind that hastens destruction; when intention becomes speed and skill becomes precision against vital points, violence escalates rapidly. It implicitly warns that unchecked wrath turns human agency into a force that produces suffering and irreversible consequences.
In the Drona Parva’s battle setting, the narration describes a fierce, fast-moving onslaught of archery—tumultuous and deadly—where arrows strike vital spots and blood flows. It is a poetic battlefield image emphasizing the intensity and lethality of the combat.