Shloka 47
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
पोथयामास तुरगान् रथं च कृतवर्मण: । कृतवर्मा त्ववप्लुत्य रथात् तस्मादपाक्रमत्
sañjaya uvāca | pothayāmāsa turagān rathaṃ ca kṛtavarmaṇaḥ | kṛtavarmā tv avaplutya rathāt tasmād apākramat | (asminn antare bhīmasenaḥ anyasmin rathe samārūḍho 'bhavat) kṛtavarmā punaḥ raṇe bhīmasenasya hayān jaghāna | tataḥ hateṣu hayeṣu mahābalaḥ pāṇḍukumāro bhīmasenaḥ śīghraṃ rathād avatarat | sa kupito daṇḍam udyamya kālasadṛśo gadāṃ gṛhītvā kṛtavarmaṇaḥ hayān rathaṃ ca cūrṇayāmāsa | kṛtavarmā tu tasmād rathād utplutya palāyitaḥ |
三阇耶说道：他将克利多跋摩的战马与战车尽皆击碎。克利多跋摩却从那车上一跃而下，退避而去。（其时毗摩塞那已登上另一辆战车。）克利多跋摩又在战场上杀死毗摩的战马。马既被杀，般度之子、力大无比的毗摩迅速下车；盛怒之下，他举兵如杖，执锤如死神亲临，将克利多跋摩的马与战车砸成齑粉。克利多跋摩遂从那车上跳下，仓皇逃遁。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield choices rapidly escalate: repeated destruction of an opponent’s mobility (horses and chariot) provokes immediate, forceful retaliation. Ethically, it underscores the tension between controlled kshatriya conduct and anger-driven violence—where wrath makes a warrior act ‘like Death,’ prioritizing decisive neutralization over restraint.
Kritavarman’s chariot and horses are smashed; he jumps down and retreats. Bhima mounts another chariot, but Kritavarman again kills Bhima’s horses. Bhima then dismounts in fury, takes up his mace, and pulverizes Kritavarman’s horses and chariot, after which Kritavarman leaps away and flees.