Shloka 196

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

योधयामास कालिऊ्ू स्वबाहुबलमाश्रित: । तब महाबाहु भीमने अपने बाहुबलका आश्रय लेकर सुन्दर धनुषकी टंकार फैलाते हुए कलिंगराजसे युद्ध आरम्भ किया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | yodhayāmāsa kaliṅgaṃ svabāhubalam āśritaḥ | tadā mahābāhuḥ bhīmaḥ svabāhubalasya āśrayaṃ kṛtvā sundara-dhanuṣaḥ ṭaṅkāraṃ vistārayann iva kaliṅgarājena saha yuddham ārabdhavān |

Translation

散阇耶说道：臂力雄强的毗摩倚仗自身之力，与羯陵伽王交战。继而他以本身武勇为依归，使华美之弓弦声铿然震荡四方，遂开战端——这是个人英勇的写照，却置身于俱卢之野那由职责所驱使的暴烈杀伐之中。

Word by Word

• योधयामास: made (him) fight / fought (began fighting)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध् (प्रेरणे/युद्धे) → योधय (णिच्)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद, परोक्षभूत/कथनभूत-प्रयोगः), 3, singular

• कालिङ्गम्: the Kalinga (king/warrior)
• कालिङ्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• स्वबाहुबलम्: his own arm-strength
• स्वबाहुबलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + बाहुबल (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• आश्रितः: having resorted to / relying on
• आश्रितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) → आश्रित (क्त)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bhima
• Kalinga (Kalinga king)
• bow (dhanuṣ)
• bowstring twang (ṭaṅkāra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣātra-vīrya (warrior valor) and self-reliance in action: Bhima enters combat depending on his own strength. In the epic’s ethical frame, such prowess is not mere aggression but is situated within the battlefield duty (dharma) of a kṣatriya during the Kurukshetra war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Bhima initiating combat with the Kalinga king. Bhima, famed for physical power, signals the start of the engagement with the loud twang of his bow and then fights, marking an intensification of the battle scenes in Bhishma Parva.