वैशंपायन उवाच
एतस्मिन्न् एव काले तु भीमसेनो ऽपि वीर्यवान् ॥
धर्मराजम् अनुज्ञाप्य ययौ प्राचीं दिशं प्रति ॥
महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना ॥
वृतो भरतशार्दूलो द्विषच्छोकविवर्धनः ॥
स गत्वा राजशार्दूलः पाञ्चालानां पुरं महत् ॥
पाञ्चालान् विविधोपायैः सान्त्वयाम् आस पाण्डवः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
etasminn eva kāle tu bhīmaseno 'pi vīryavān ||
dharmarājam anujñāpya yayau prācīṃ diśaṃ prati ||
mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā ||
vṛto bharataśārdūlo dviṣacchokavivardhanaḥ ||
sa gatvā rājaśārdūlaḥ pāñcālānāṃ puraṃ mahat ||
pāñcālān vividhopāyaiḥ sāntvayām āsa pāṇḍavaḥ ||
At this very time mighty Bhimasena too, having asked leave of Dharmaraja, set out toward the eastern direction, surrounded by a great army that crushed the kingdoms of his foes -- the tiger of the Bharatas, who increased the sorrow of his enemies. Coming to the great city of the Panchalas, the tiger among kings, the Pandava, won over the Panchalas by various means.
eabd88f5184e · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:51 PM UTC
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Bhima, like Arjuna before him, sets out only "having asked leave of Dharmaraja": the brothers' shared consent is the single source of all four campaigns. It is telling that fearsome Bhima approaches the Panchalas -- kin through Draupadi -- not with the sword but "wins them over by various means": with one's own, gentleness is used rather than force. The verse teaches that strength subordinated to dharma knows how to discern where force is needed and where affection is; true might lies not in breaking everyone, but in giving each the treatment fitting to him.