वैशंपायन उवाच
तद् वै श्रुत्वा भीमसेनो ऽत्यमर्षी; भृशं निशश्वास तदार्तरूपः ॥
राजानुगो धर्मपाशानुबद्धो; दहन्न् इवैनं कोपविरक्तदृष्टिः ॥
भीम उवाच
नाहं कुप्ये सूतपुत्रस्य राजन्न्; एष सत्यं दासधर्मः प्रविष्टः ॥
किं विद्विषो वाद्य मां धारयेयुर्; नादेवीस् त्वं यद्य् अनया नरेन्द्र ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tad vai śrutvā bhīmaseno 'tyamarṣī; bhṛśaṃ niśaśvāsa tadārtarūpaḥ ||
rājānugo dharmapāśānubaddho; dahann ivainaṃ kopaviraktadṛṣṭiḥ ||
bhīma uvāca
nāhaṃ kupye sūtaputrasya rājann; eṣa satyaṃ dāsadharmaḥ praviṣṭaḥ ||
kiṃ vidviṣo vādya māṃ dhārayeyur; nādevīs tvaṃ yady anayā narendra ||
Having heard this, Bhimasena, wounded unbearably, sighed heavily, showing the look of one in anguish — obedient to the king and bound by the fetters of dharma, as if burning Karna with a glance dulled by wrath: "It is not the son of a suta I am angry at, O king, for indeed we have entered upon the lot of slaves; but would our enemies have dared to treat me thus today, if you, O lord of men, had not staked her?"
69a850c44a74 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Bhima's anger, finding no permitted outlet, turns inward — into reproach toward the brother who became the unwitting cause of the disgrace. Here the anguish of a love bound by loyalty is laid bare: he does not blame the enemy, for an enemy is only an enemy, but grieves that the path to evil was opened by his own. It is telling how he distinguishes: at Karna he is "not angry" — the baseness of the base does not surprise him; what burns him is that the instrument of the outrage was the mistake of one he loves. The verse teaches that the gravest wounds are inflicted not by the enmity of a stranger but by the misstep of one close to us; and that loyalty, which does not let anger pour outward, turns it into a bitter yet humble reproach — heavier than a blow, because it is dissolved in love.