एवम् उक्त्वा ततो वीरो ययौ मध्येन भारतीम् ॥
भीमसेनस्य मार्गेषु गदाप्रमथितैर् गजैः ॥
स ददर्श ततो भीमं दहन्तं रिपुवाहिनीम् ॥
वातं वृक्षान् इव बलात् प्रभञ्जन्तं रणे नृपान् ॥
ते हन्यमानाः समरे रथिनः सादिनस् तथा ॥
पादाता दन्तिनश् चैव चक्रुर् आर्तस्वरं महत् ॥
हाहाकारश् च संजज्ञे तव सैन्यस्य मारिष ॥
वध्यतो भीमसेनेन कृतिना चित्रयोधिना ॥
ततः कृतास्त्रास् ते सर्वे परिवार्य वृकोदरम् ॥
अभीताः समवर्तन्त शस्त्रवृष्ट्या समन्ततः ॥
अभिद्रुतं शस्त्रभृतां वरिष्ठं; समन्ततः पाण्डवं लोकवीरैः ॥
सैन्येन घोरेण सुसंगतेन; दृष्ट्वा बली पार्षतो भीमसेनम् ॥
अथोपगच्छच् छरविक्षताङ्गं; पदातिनं क्रोधविषं वमन्तम् ॥
आश्वासयन् पार्षतो भीमसेनं; गदाहस्तं कालम् इवान्तकाले ॥
निःशल्यम् एनं च चकार तूर्णम्; आरोपयच् चात्मरथं महात्मा ॥
भृशं परिष्वज्य च भीमसेनम्; आश्वासयाम् आस च शत्रुमध्ये ॥
भ्रातॄन् अथोपेत्य तवापि पुत्रस्; तस्मिन् विमर्दे महति प्रवृत्ते ॥
अयं दुरात्मा द्रुपदस्य पुत्रः; समागतो भीमसेनेन सार्धम् ॥
तं यात सर्वे सहिता निहन्तुं; मा वो रिपुः प्रार्थयताम् अनीकम् ॥
श्रुत्वा तु वाक्यं तम् अमृष्यमाणा; ज्येष्ठाज्ञया चोदिता धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥
वधाय निष्पेतुर् उदायुधास् ते; युगक्षये केतवो यद्वद् उग्राः ॥
प्रगृह्य चित्राणि धनूंषि वीरा; ज्यानेमिघोषैः प्रविकम्पयन्तः ॥
शरैर् अवर्षन् द्रुपदस्य पुत्रं; यथाम्बुदा भूधरं वारिजालैः ॥
निहत्य तांश् चापि शरैः सुतीक्ष्णैर्; न विव्यथे समरे चित्रयोधी ॥
समभ्युदीर्णांश् च तवात्मजांस् तथा; निशाम्य वीरान् अभितः स्थितान् रणे ॥
जिघांसुर् उग्रं द्रुपदात्मजो युवा; प्रमोहनास्त्रं युयुजे महारथः ॥
क्रुद्धो भृशं तव पुत्रेषु राजन्; दैत्येषु यद्वत् समरे महेन्द्रः ॥
ततो व्यमुह्यन्त रणे नृवीराः; प्रमोहनास्त्राहतबुद्धिसत्त्वाः ॥
प्रदुद्रुवुः कुरवश् चैव सर्वे; सवाजिनागाः सरथाः समन्तात् ॥
परीतकालान् इव नष्टसंज्ञान्; मोहोपेतांस् तव पुत्रान् निशम्य ॥
evam uktvā tato vīro yayau madhyena bhāratīm ||
bhīmasenasya mārgeṣu gadāpramathitair gajaiḥ ||
sa dadarśa tato bhīmaṃ dahantaṃ ripuvāhinīm ||
vātaṃ vṛkṣān iva balāt prabhañjantaṃ raṇe nṛpān ||
te hanyamānāḥ samare rathinaḥ sādinas tathā ||
pādātā dantinaś caiva cakrur ārtasvaraṃ mahat ||
hāhākāraś ca saṃjajñe tava sainyasya māriṣa ||
vadhyato bhīmasenena kṛtinā citrayodhinā ||
tataḥ kṛtāstrās te sarve parivārya vṛkodaram ||
abhītāḥ samavartanta śastravṛṣṭyā samantataḥ ||
abhidrutaṃ śastrabhṛtāṃ variṣṭhaṃ; samantataḥ pāṇḍavaṃ lokavīraiḥ ||
sainyena ghoreṇa susaṃgatena; dṛṣṭvā balī pārṣato bhīmasenam ||
athopagacchac charavikṣatāṅgaṃ; padātinaṃ krodhaviṣaṃ vamantam ||
āśvāsayan pārṣato bhīmasenaṃ; gadāhastaṃ kālam ivāntakāle ||
niḥśalyam enaṃ ca cakāra tūrṇam; āropayac cātmarathaṃ mahātmā ||
bhṛśaṃ pariṣvajya ca bhīmasenam; āśvāsayām āsa ca śatrumadhye ||
bhrātṝn athopetya tavāpi putras; tasmin vimarde mahati pravṛtte ||
ayaṃ durātmā drupadasya putraḥ; samāgato bhīmasenena sārdham ||
taṃ yāta sarve sahitā nihantuṃ; mā vo ripuḥ prārthayatām anīkam ||
śrutvā tu vākyaṃ tam amṛṣyamāṇā; jyeṣṭhājñayā coditā dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ ||
vadhāya niṣpetur udāyudhās te; yugakṣaye ketavo yadvad ugrāḥ ||
pragṛhya citrāṇi dhanūṃṣi vīrā; jyānemighoṣaiḥ pravikampayantaḥ ||
śarair avarṣan drupadasya putraṃ; yathāmbudā bhūdharaṃ vārijālaiḥ ||
nihatya tāṃś cāpi śaraiḥ sutīkṣṇair; na vivyathe samare citrayodhī ||
samabhyudīrṇāṃś ca tavātmajāṃs tathā; niśāmya vīrān abhitaḥ sthitān raṇe ||
jighāṃsur ugraṃ drupadātmajo yuvā; pramohanāstraṃ yuyuje mahārathaḥ ||
kruddho bhṛśaṃ tava putreṣu rājan; daityeṣu yadvat samare mahendraḥ ||
tato vyamuhyanta raṇe nṛvīrāḥ; pramohanāstrāhatabuddhisattvāḥ ||
pradudruvuḥ kuravaś caiva sarve; savājināgāḥ sarathāḥ samantāt ||
parītakālān iva naṣṭasaṃjñān; mohopetāṃs tava putrān niśamya ||
Having said this, the hero then went through the midst of the Bharata army, along the paths of Bhimasena, where elephants lay crushed by his mace. Then he saw Bhima, burning through the enemy army and shattering kings in battle by force, as wind shatters trees. The chariot-warriors, horsemen, foot soldiers, and elephants being struck down in the fight raised a great cry of anguish. A wail of 'alas!' arose in your army, o worthy one, as Bhimasena — a skilled and extraordinary warrior — struck them down. Then all those warriors, trained in weapons, surrounded Vrikodara and fearlessly turned upon him together, raining weapons on him from every side. The mighty son of Prishata saw Bhimasena, the foremost of weapon-bearers, assailed on every side by world-renowned heroes and by a terrible, closely massed army. He then approached Bhima, his body lacerated by arrows, walking on foot and seeming to spew the very poison of wrath; Parshata comforted him as he stood there with his mace, like Time itself at the hour of destruction. The great-souled Dhrishtadyumna quickly drew the arrow-shafts from him, lifted him onto his own chariot, embraced Bhimasena tightly, and comforted him in the midst of the enemies. Then your son, coming to his brothers as the great clash was underway, said: 'This wicked son of Drupada has joined Bhimasena. Go, all of you together, and kill him, lest this enemy threaten our army!' Hearing these words, the Dhartarashtras, unable to bear it and driven by their elder brother's command, rushed out to kill, weapons raised, like fierce comets at the destruction of the age. The heroes seized their splendid bows and, making everything tremble with the twang of bowstrings and the creak of rims, showered the son of Drupada with arrows, as clouds pour streams of water upon a mountain. But this skilled warrior, striking them down in turn with keen arrows, did not waver in the fight. Seeing your sons, the heroes, gathered around him in battle intent on killing him fiercely, the young son of Drupada, a great chariot-warrior, invoked the pramohana weapon of bewilderment, enraged against your sons, o king, as Mahendra once was against the daityas in battle. Then the heroic warriors, their minds and consciousness struck by the weapon of bewilderment, lost their senses in the fight. All the Kurus fled in every direction with their horses, elephants, and chariots, as though overtaken by death, having lost their senses and fallen into delusion, when they beheld your sons thus bewildered.
4695f4f4f0cb · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:38:20 PM UTC
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The scene rests on two forces: Bhima's destructive energy and Dhrishtadyumna's loyalty, who not only finds his friend but restores him to the fight. The pramohana weapon shows that the war is not waged by physical strength alone: the warriors' very consciousness becomes a battlefield.