Mahabharata 7.41.7 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 41, Shloka 7
Jayadrathasya varaprāptiḥ (जयद्रथस्य वरप्राप्तिः) — Jayadratha’s boon and the restraint of the Pāṇḍava advance
ततस्तद्ू विततं सैन्यं हस्त्यश्वरथपत्तिमत् । क्रुद्धोडभिमन्युरभिनत् तिग्मतेजा महारथ:
tatas tad dū vitataṃ sainyaṃ hasty-aśva-ratha-patti-mat | kruddho 'bhimanyur abhinat tigma-tejā mahā-rathaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Abhimanyu—his wrath kindled, blazing with keen splendour, a foremost chariot-warrior—charged and tore through that widely spread host, complete with elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry. The scene underscores how martial prowess, when driven by fierce resolve, can shatter even a well-formed army, while also hinting at the peril of battle-fury that consumes both sides in the unraveling of dharma on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming force of a warrior’s determined energy in war, while implicitly warning that anger-fueled combat accelerates destruction and the erosion of restraint—an ethical tension central to the Mahabharata’s portrayal of kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya reports that Abhimanyu, enraged and radiant with fierce power, charges into the enemy’s fully constituted fourfold army (elephants, cavalry, chariots, infantry) and breaks through its formation.
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