Shloka 17
Gadā-yuddhe Bhīma–Duryodhanayoḥ Tumulaḥ Saṃprahāraḥ
Mace-duel’s intense exchange
सुयोधने कौरवेन्द्रे खाण्डवेडग्निमिवार्जुन: । शल्यमपद्योद्धरिष्यामि तव पाण्डव हृच्छयम्
sañjaya uvāca |
suyodhane kauravendre khāṇḍave ’gnim ivārjunaḥ |
śalyam apadyoddhariṣyāmi tava pāṇḍava hṛcchayam ||
सञ्जय उवाच— सुयोधने कौरवेन्द्रे खाण्डवेऽग्निमिवार्जुनः । शल्यमपद्योद्धरिष्यामि तव पाण्डव हृच्छयम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unresolved injustice can become a ‘thorn in the heart’ that demands closure; yet it also shows the moral tension of using anger as motivation. In the epic’s ethical landscape, decisive action may be framed as duty and relief from suffering, but the imagery warns that wrath, once unleashed, resembles an uncontrollable fire.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s resolve (contextually Bhīma’s) to confront Duryodhana decisively. He compares his impending outburst of long-held anger to Arjuna’s role in the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest, and promises to remove the Pāṇḍava’s inner pain—symbolized as a thorn lodged in the heart.