ते गजा गिरिसंकाशाः क्षरन्तः सर्वतो मदम् ॥
भीमसेनस्य नाराचैर् विमुखा विमदीकृताः ॥
विधमेद् अभ्रजालानि यथा वायुः समन्ततः ॥
व्यधमत् तान्य् अनीकानि तथैव पवनात्मजः ॥
स तेषु विसृजन् बाणान् भीमो नागेष्व् अशोभत ॥
भुवनेष्व् इव सर्वेषु गभस्तीन् उदितो रविः ॥
te gajā girisaṃkāśāḥ kṣarantaḥ sarvato madam ||
bhīmasenasya nārācair vimukhā vimadīkṛtāḥ ||
vidhamed abhrajālāni yathā vāyuḥ samantataḥ ||
vyadhamat tāny anīkāni tathaiva pavanātmajaḥ ||
sa teṣu visṛjan bāṇān bhīmo nāgeṣv aśobhata ||
bhuvaneṣv iva sarveṣu gabhastīn udito raviḥ ||
Those elephants, like mountains, streaming musth on every side, were turned back by the naracha arrows of Bhimasena, sobered of their rut. As the wind would scatter banks of clouds on every side, so did the son of Wind scatter those ranks. He, loosing arrows among those elephants, Bhima gleamed among the elephants, like the risen sun pouring its rays over all worlds.
c02ddfc29ae7 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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Bhima, son of the Wind, scatters the elephant ranks "as the wind scatters banks of clouds": the image echoes his own nature, for he was born of the god of wind. His arrows "sober" the rutting elephants — fury tamed by a greater force subsides. And among the elephants he gleams "like the risen sun": after the wind — an image of light dispersing darkness. It is telling that the elements of wind and sun are joined in one warrior. The verse teaches that a man often acts according to his innermost nature, and the son of Wind scatters his foes as wind does; that even the most unbridled fury is sobered on meeting a higher force; and that valor, like the sun, not only strikes down but also shines, revealing amid the thick of battle an unexpected, luminous beauty.