युधिष्ठिर उवाच
क्रुद्धो ऽपि पुरुषव्याघ्र भीम मा स्म स्त्रियं वधीः ॥
शरीरगुप्त्याभ्यधिकं धर्मं गोपय पाण्डव ॥
वधाभिप्रायम् आयान्तम् अवधीस् त्वं महाबलम् ॥
रक्षसस् तस्य भगिनी किं नः क्रुद्धा करिष्यति ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
kruddho 'pi puruṣavyāghra bhīma mā sma striyaṃ vadhīḥ ||
śarīraguptyābhyadhikaṃ dharmaṃ gopaya pāṇḍava ||
vadhābhiprāyam āyāntam avadhīs tvaṃ mahābalam ||
rakṣasas tasya bhaginī kiṃ naḥ kruddhā kariṣyati ||
Yudhishthira said: "Even in anger, O tiger among men, Bhima, do not kill a woman; guard dharma above the protection of the body, O Pandava. You killed the mighty one who came with intent to kill -- what could the sister of that rakshasa do to us, [even] enraged?"
d1f05c4a3364 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
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Here Yudhishthira proclaims dharma above self-preservation. His words are telling: "guard dharma above the protection of the body" -- the law stands higher than life itself, and for its sake one may forgo safety. In this is the highest morality: the righteous do no wrong even under the pretext of self-defense, for the purity of dharma is dearer than the body's integrity. His mercy is telling too: the prohibition against killing a woman is inviolable, however strong the fear. Thus the scripture shows in Yudhishthira the king of dharma, for whom the moral law is a truer protection than the sword -- and his magnanimity opens for Hidimba the path to salvation.