युधिष्ठिरं च ते सर्वे समुदैक्षन्त पार्थिवाः ॥
किं नु वक्ष्यति धर्मज्ञ इति साचीकृताननाः ॥
किं नु वक्ष्यति बीभत्सुर् अजितो युधि पाण्डवः ॥
भीमसेनो यमौ चेति भृशं कौतूहलान्विताः ॥
तस्मिन्न् उपरते शब्दे भीमसेनो ऽब्रवीद् इदम् ॥
प्रगृह्य विपुलं वृत्तं भुजं चन्दनरूषितम् ॥
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ ca te sarve samudaikṣanta pārthivāḥ ||
kiṃ nu vakṣyati dharmajña iti sācīkṛtānanāḥ ||
kiṃ nu vakṣyati bībhatsur ajito yudhi pāṇḍavaḥ ||
bhīmaseno yamau ceti bhṛśaṃ kautūhalānvitāḥ ||
tasminn uparate śabde bhīmaseno 'bravīd idam ||
pragṛhya vipulaṃ vṛttaṃ bhujaṃ candanarūṣitam ||
And all those kings gazed at Yudhishthira, their faces turned aside: "What will the knower of dharma say?" "What will Bibhatsu, the unconquered Pandava in battle, say, and Bhimasena, and the twins?" — so they wondered, filled with intense curiosity. When the clamor had subsided, Bhimasena spoke these words, raising his broad, rounded arm, anointed with sandalwood.
3d73293d2eed · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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The kings look at Yudhishthira with faces turned aside: they dare not look directly at the one whom they drew into disgrace and did not dare to defend — the shame of a coward hides the gaze. The assembly's curiosity, in place of compassion, betrays its own fall: it turns another's anguish into a spectacle. It is telling that among those struck silent, the first to raise his voice is not the wisest in judgment but the mightiest in arm — though even his strength, as we shall see, is held in check by dharma. The verse teaches that an averted gaze is the sign of an unclean conscience; and that where the wise fall silent from fear, zeal takes up the word — yet even zeal must be held within the bounds of dharma, lest it turn into a new evil.