Shloka 24
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
अपरेण तु भल्लेन पीतेन निशितेन तु । अपातयत् कुण्डलिन सिंह: क्षुद्रमूगं यथा,तत्पश्चात् जैसे सिंह छोटे-से मृगको दबोच लेता है, उसी प्रकार भीमने दूसरे पानीदार एवं तीखे भल्लसे आपके पुत्र कुण्डलीको धराशायी कर दिया
apareṇa tu bhallena pītena niśitena tu | apātayat kuṇḍalinaṁ siṁhaḥ kṣudra-mṛgaṁ yathā ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Pagkaraan, sa isa pang palasong may talim (bhalla), makinang at ubod ng talas, ibinagsak ni Bhīma si Kuṇḍalin, ang iyong anak, gaya ng leon na nagpapabagsak sa munting usa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare: strength, skill, and circumstance can decisively determine outcomes, and even those of high birth may fall swiftly. The lion–deer simile conveys the ethical tension of war—valor and duty on one side, and the stark vulnerability of the defeated on the other.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma, using another sharp and shining bhalla (barbed missile), fells Kuṇḍalin—described as Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son—likening the act to a lion bringing down a small deer.