Shloka 33
भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः
Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array
आशीविषा इव क्रुद्धा: पर्वते गन्धमादने । उसने अत्यन्त तीखे पचीस नाराच छोड़े। महाराज! वे सब सहसा उस राक्षसराज घटोत्कचपर जाकर गिरे
āśīviṣā iva kruddhāḥ parvate gandhamādane | ācāryasyārdhacandreṇa kruddhaś ciccheda kārmukam | somadattasya bhallena dhvajaṃ conmathya cānadat |
Wika ni Sanjaya: Ang mga palaso’y bumagsak nang bigla at nakamamatay—gaya ng mga nagngangalit na makamandag na ahas sa Bundok Gandhamādana. Pagkaraan, si Ghaṭotkaca, ang makapangyarihang mandirigma, nag-aalab sa poot at umuungal nang mabagsik, ay iniunat ang kaniyang malaking busog; sa palasong hugis kalahating buwan, pinutol niya ang busog ni Droṇācārya. Sa isa pang palasong malapad ang dulo, ibinagsak niya ang watawat ni Somadatta, at saka nagpalabas ng sigaw na tila leon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, in war, the loss of key instruments (a bow) and symbols (a banner) can break capability and morale; it also cautions that rage-powered prowess, though effective, intensifies the cycle of violence central to the epic’s moral tension.
Sañjaya describes Ghaṭotkaca’s furious counterattack: his arrows descend like venomous snakes; he severs Droṇa’s bow with a crescent-headed shaft, then knocks down Somadatta’s banner with a broad-headed arrow and roars in triumph.