तद् वै श्रुत्वा भीमसेनो ऽत्यमर्षी; निर्भर्त्स्योच्चैस् तं निगृह्यैव रोषात् ॥
उवाचेदं सहसैवोपगम्य; सिंहो यथा हैमवतः शृगालम् ॥
भीमसेन उवाच
क्रूर पापजनैर् जुष्टम् अकृतार्थं प्रभाषसे ॥
गान्धारविद्यया हि त्वं राजमध्ये विकत्थसे ॥
यथा तुदसि मर्माणि वाक्शरैर् इह नो भृशम् ॥
तथा स्मारयिता ते ऽहं कृन्तन् मर्माणि संयुगे ॥
ये च त्वाम् अनुवर्तन्ते कामलोभवशानुगाः ॥
गोप्तारः सानुबन्धांस् तान् नेष्यामि यमसादनम् ॥
tad vai śrutvā bhīmaseno 'tyamarṣī; nirbhartsyoccais taṃ nigṛhyaiva roṣāt ||
uvācedaṃ sahasaivopagamya; siṃho yathā haimavataḥ śṛgālam ||
bhīmasena uvāca
krūra pāpajanair juṣṭam akṛtārthaṃ prabhāṣase ||
gāndhāravidyayā hi tvaṃ rājamadhye vikatthase ||
yathā tudasi marmāṇi vākśarair iha no bhṛśam ||
tathā smārayitā te 'haṃ kṛntan marmāṇi saṃyuge ||
ye ca tvām anuvartante kāmalobhavaśānugāḥ ||
goptāraḥ sānubandhāṃs tān neṣyāmi yamasādanam ||
Hearing this, Bhimasena, stung beyond endurance, having loudly rebuked him and restrained himself from wrath, spoke thus, suddenly advancing upon him, as a Himalayan lion upon a jackal: 'Cruel one, keeping company with sinful men, you speak in vain, for it is by the Gandhara art — Shakuni's trickery at dice — that you boast among kings. As you here cruelly pierce our vital points with arrows of words, so shall I remind you of this, cutting your vital points in battle. And those who follow you, ruled by passion and greed, your protectors together with their kin — I shall lead them to the abode of Yama.'
507c710d19f6 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Bhima exposes the root of the boast: the persecutor prides himself not on valor but on the 'Gandhara art' — Shakuni's borrowed deceit; thus one who claims the fruit of trickery boasts of what is neither his own nor honorable. The image of the lion and the jackal sets everything in its place: the jackal's howl is loud, but its fate is sealed the moment the lion appears. It is telling that Bhima promises to repay not word with word, but deed in its own hour — 'I shall remind you in battle': righteous anger does not spend itself in bickering but waits for the field. The verse teaches that one who boasts of another's deceit stands naked before the truth; that words of cruelty accrue a debt paid in the hour of battle; and that the lion does not quarrel with the jackal — he only postpones their meeting.