भीम उवाच
भवन्ति देशे बन्धक्यः कितवानां युधिष्ठिर ॥
न ताभिर् उत दीव्यन्ति दया चैवास्ति तास्व् अपि ॥
काश्यो यद् बलिम् आहार्षीद् द्रव्यं यच् चान्यद् उत्तमम् ॥
तथान्ये पृथिवीपाला यानि रत्नान्य् उपाहरन् ॥
वाहनानि धनं चैव कवचान्य् आयुधानि च ॥
राज्यम् आत्मा वयं चैव कैतवेन हृतं परैः ॥
न च मे तत्र कोपो ऽभूत् सर्वस्येशो हि नो भवान् ॥
इदं त्व् अतिकृतं मन्ये द्रौपदी यत्र पण्यते ॥
bhīma uvāca
bhavanti deśe bandhakyaḥ kitavānāṃ yudhiṣṭhira ||
na tābhir uta dīvyanti dayā caivāsti tāsv api ||
kāśyo yad balim āhārṣīd dravyaṃ yac cānyad uttamam ||
tathānye pṛthivīpālā yāni ratnāny upāharan ||
vāhanāni dhanaṃ caiva kavacāny āyudhāni ca ||
rājyam ātmā vayaṃ caiva kaitavena hṛtaṃ paraiḥ ||
na ca me tatra kopo 'bhūt sarvasyeśo hi no bhavān ||
idaṃ tv atikṛtaṃ manye draupadī yatra paṇyate ||
[Bhima:] "There are, in the land, O Yudhishthira, harlots kept by gamblers, but even with them men do not gamble, and there is pity even for them. What Kashi brought as tribute, and other finest goods, and the treasures that other guardians of the earth offered — chariots, wealth, armor and weapons, the kingdom, yourself, and us — all of it was taken by the enemy through deceit. And at this I felt no anger, for you are the lord of all that is ours. But this, I think, has crossed the limit — that Draupadi is staked as a wager."
8acee5ed89f4 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Bhima does not complain about the loss of the kingdom, of wealth, or even of his own freedom: all of this lay within the elder's authority, and he does not dispute his right. Anger awakens only where the defenseless are violated — and here the measure of righteous indignation reveals itself: it flares up not for one's own sake, but for a trampled purity. The comparison with the harlot is telling: even a fallen woman is spared, never made a stake in a game — how much graver, then, to wager a chaste queen. The verse teaches that there is a limit beyond which even lawful authority commits lawlessness; reverence for an elder is not license for him to destroy the innocent.