Shloka 74

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

Devanagari script

समाहतो महाराज कालिड्लेन महात्मना । संचुक्रुशे भृशं भीमो दण्डाहत इवोरग:

Transliteration

samāhato mahārāja kāliṅgena mahātmanā | sañcukruśe bhṛśaṃ bhīmo daṇḍāhata ivoragaḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：大王啊，毗摩被迦陵伽那位高魂之主击中，便发出凶猛的呼号——如同被杖鞭挞的蛇。

Word by Word

• समाहतः: struck, smitten
• समाहतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-हन् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कालिङ्गेन: by the Kalinga (king/warrior)
• कालिङ्गेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• संचुक्रुशे: cried out, roared
• संचुक्रुशे: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-क्रुश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• भृशम्: violently, exceedingly
• भृशम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृशम्

• भीमः: Bhima
• भीमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दण्डाहतः: struck by a staff
• दण्डाहतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दण्ड-आहत (आ-हन्, क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उरगः: a serpent
• उरगः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उरग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')
• Bhīma (Bhīmasena)
• Kaliṅga-rāja / Kaliṅga warrior
• daṇḍa (staff/rod)
• uraga (serpent)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth within the war narrative: injury and humiliation can inflame anger, and unchecked wrath becomes perilous—like a provoked serpent—suggesting the ethical need for restraint even in a kṣatriya context.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma has been struck by the Kaliṅga ruler/warrior; Bhīma cries out fiercely, compared to a serpent hit with a staff, indicating both pain and rising fury on the battlefield.