Shloka 816
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
प्राहिणोन्मृत्युलोकाय तदद्भुतमिवाभवत् वहाँ होती हुई उस भयंकर बाण-वर्षाको रोककर महाबली भीमसेन हाथमें गदा ले बड़े वेगसे कलिंग-सेनामें कूद पड़े। उस सेनामें घुसकर शत्रुमर्दन भीमने पहले सात सौ वीरोंको यमलोक पहुँचाया। फिर दो हजार कलिंगोंको मृत्युके लोकमें भेज दिया। यह अद्भुत-सी घटना हुई
sañjaya uvāca | prāhiṇon mṛtyulokāya tad adbhutam ivābhavat |
Sabi ni Sañjaya: Ipinadala niya sila sa kaharian ng Kamatayan; wari’y isang kababalaghan ang naganap. Matapos pigilin ang nakapangingilabot na buhos ng mga palaso, hinawakan ng makapangyarihang Bhīmasena ang kanyang pamalo (gada) at, sa matinding bilis, lumundag sa hanay ng hukbong Kaliṅga. Pagpasok niya sa kanilang mga ranggo, si Bhīma—tagadurog ng kaaway—ay unang nagpadala ng pitong daang mandirigma sa tahanan ni Yama, at saka itinapon ang dalawang libong Kaliṅga sa lupain ng kamatayan. Kaya naganap ang isang pambihirang tagpo sa gitna ng madugong tungkulin ng digmaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the harsh reality of kṣatriya-dharma in war: a warrior’s duty may demand fearsome action, yet the narrative frames the scale and decisiveness of Bhīma’s deed as ‘adbhuta’—a wonder—highlighting how extraordinary prowess operates within the grim moral landscape of battle and mortality.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma halting a terrifying arrow-shower, taking up his mace, and charging into the Kaliṅga formation. Inside their ranks he slays vast numbers—first seven hundred warriors, then two thousand Kaliṅgas—sending them to Yama’s realm, an event presented as astonishing.