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Shloka 166

अध्याय ७५ — दैव-पुरुषकार-समन्वयः

Reconciling Contingency and Human Effort

द्रष्टा मां त्वं च लोकश्न विकर्षन्तं वरान्‌ वरान्‌ जब (घमासान युद्धमें) मैं कुपित होकर मतवाले हाथियों

draṣṭā māṃ tvaṃ ca loka-jña vikarṣantaṃ varān varān; yuddhe krodha-samāviṣṭo mattān gajān rathinaś ca hayārohāṃś ca pātayiṣyāmi prakṣepsyāmi ca; anyāṃś ca śreṣṭhān kṣatriya-vīrān nihaniṣyāmi; tadā tvaṃ ca pare lokāś ca māṃ drakṣyatha yathāhaṃ pradhāna-pradhānān vīrān vicitya vicitya saṃharāmi.

Bhīmasena nói: “Người am tường thế sự sẽ chứng kiến ta kéo ngã những chiến tướng bậc nhất. Khi giữa trận chiến dữ dội ta bừng cơn thịnh nộ, ta sẽ bắt đầu quật ngã và hất văng những voi chiến cuồng dại, những dũng sĩ xa chiến và kỵ binh; và khi ta ra tay sát phạt các anh hùng kṣatriya kiệt xuất khác, thì Người cùng mọi người sẽ thấy ta chọn từng kẻ một—những chủ tướng hàng đầu—mà tiêu diệt.”

द्रष्टाseer; one who will see
द्रष्टा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootदृश् (धातु) → द्रष्टृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
माम्me
माम्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootअस्मद्
Form—, Accusative, Singular
त्वम्you
त्वम्:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
Form—, Nominative, Singular
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
लोकाःpeople
लोकाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootलोक
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
विकर्षन्तम्dragging; pulling
विकर्षन्तम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootवि + कृश्/कर्ष् (धातु) → विकर्षत् (शतृ-कृदन्त)
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
वरान्excellent; best
वरान्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootवर
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
वरान्excellent; best (repeated for emphasis)
वरान्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootवर
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural

भीमसेन उवाच

B
Bhīmasena
W
war-elephants (gaja)
C
chariot-warriors (rathin)
H
horsemen (hayāroha)
K
kṣatriya heroes

Educational Q&A

The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma as martial duty: Bhīma frames his coming violence as deliberate, targeted destruction of leading enemy champions. Ethically, it highlights the tension between righteous duty in war and the dangerous momentum of anger (krodha) that can intensify violence.

Bhīma declares that, once battle begins, he will in wrath bring down elephants, chariot-fighters, and cavalry, and will systematically pick out and kill the foremost kṣatriya heroes—so that the addressed ‘knower of the world’ and others will witness his selective slaughter of principal warriors.