Shloka 81
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
भीम: सप्त शतान् वीराननयद् यमसादनम् । पुनश्चैव द्विसाहस्नान् कलिज्ञानरिमर्दन:
Bhīmaḥ sapta śatān vīrān anayad yamasādanam | punaś caiva dvi-sāhasrān kali-jñāna-rimardanaḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Si Bhīma, ang dumudurog sa kaaway, ay nagpadala ng pitong daang mandirigma sa tahanan ni Yama. At muli, nagpadala pa siya ng dalawang libong Kalinga sa daigdig ng kamatayan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark ethical gravity of war: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya duty, the outcome is mass death. It implicitly urges reflection on the cost of violence and the responsibility that accompanies strength and tactical intelligence.
Sañjaya reports Bhīma’s battlefield exploits: he slays seven hundred enemy warriors and then a further two thousand, describing him with epithets that stress both his destructive power and his keen awareness of the battle’s stratagems.