Shloka 21
श्रुत्वा तु तद् भीमवच: सुघोरं दुःशासनो भीमसेन निरीक्ष्य,भीमसेनका यह अत्यन्त भयंकर वचन सुनकर दुःशासनने उनकी ओर देखा। देखते ही वह क्रोधसे जल उठा। युद्धस्थलमें उनके वैसा कहनेपर उसकी त्यौरी बदल गयी थी; अतः वह समस्त कौरवों तथा सोमकोंके सुनते-सुनते मुसकराकर रोषपूर्वक बोला --
śrutvā tu tad bhīmavacaḥ sughoraṃ duḥśāsano bhīmasenaṃ nirīkṣya |
सञ्जय उवाच—श्रुत्वा तु तद् भीमवचः सुघोरं, दुःशासनो भीमसेनं निरीक्ष्य। दृष्ट्वैव क्रोधेन जज्वाल सद्यः; कौरवसोमकानां श्रवणेषु स्मित्वा सरोषं जगाद, भ्रुकुटिं परिवर्त्य रणमध्ये।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how speech on the battlefield—especially words driven by vengeance—can immediately inflame anger and escalate violence. It implicitly warns that harsh, fearsome utterances have ethical weight: they shape intention, provoke retaliation, and intensify adharma-like impulses even amid a dharma-framed war.
Sañjaya reports that Duḥśāsana hears Bhīma’s terrifying challenge or threat, looks directly at him, and becomes enraged. In front of both sides—Kauravas and Somakas—he responds with a grim smile and wrathful speech, signaling an imminent clash and the sharpening of personal enmity within the larger war.