भीमसेन उवाच
नृशंसं परुषं क्रूरं शक्यं दुःशासन त्वया ॥
निकृत्या हि धनं लब्ध्वा को विकत्थितुम् अर्हति ॥
मा ह स्म सुकृतांल् लोकान् गच्छेत् पार्थो वृकोदरः ॥
यदि वक्षसि भित्त्वा ते न पिबेच् छोणितं रणे ॥
धार्तराष्ट्रान् रणे हत्वा मिषतां सर्वधन्विनाम् ॥
शमं गन्तास्मि नचिरात् सत्यम् एतद् ब्रवीमि वः ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
तस्य राजा सिंहगतेः सखेलं; दुर्योधनो भीमसेनस्य हर्षात् ॥
गतिं स्वगत्यानुचकार मन्दो; निर्गच्छतां पाण्डवानां सभायाः ॥
नैतावता कृतम् इत्य् अब्रवीत् तं; वृकोदरः संनिवृत्तार्धकायः ॥
शीघ्रं हि त्वा निहतं सानुबन्धं; संस्मार्याहं प्रतिवक्ष्यामि मूढ ॥
bhīmasena uvāca
nṛśaṃsaṃ paruṣaṃ krūraṃ śakyaṃ duḥśāsana tvayā ||
nikṛtyā hi dhanaṃ labdhvā ko vikatthitum arhati ||
mā ha sma sukṛtāṃl lokān gacchet pārtho vṛkodaraḥ ||
yadi vakṣasi bhittvā te na pibec choṇitaṃ raṇe ||
dhārtarāṣṭrān raṇe hatvā miṣatāṃ sarvadhanvinām ||
śamaṃ gantāsmi nacirāt satyam etad bravīmi vaḥ ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tasya rājā siṃhagateḥ sakhelaṃ; duryodhano bhīmasenasya harṣāt ||
gatiṃ svagatyānucakāra mando; nirgacchatāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ sabhāyāḥ ||
naitāvatā kṛtam ity abravīt taṃ; vṛkodaraḥ saṃnivṛttārdhakāyaḥ ||
śīghraṃ hi tvā nihataṃ sānubandhaṃ; saṃsmāryāhaṃ prativakṣyāmi mūḍha ||
[Bhima:] 'Cruel, harsh, savage — this is possible only for you, Duhshasana; for having gained wealth by deceit, who else would boast of it? May Partha Vrikodara never reach the worlds of the righteous, if, having split open your chest, I do not drink your blood in battle! Having slain the sons of Dhritarashtra in battle before the eyes of all the archers, I shall soon find peace — this truth I speak to you.' Then, as the Pandavas were leaving the assembly, King Duryodhana, the fool, out of glee mimicked with his own gait the lion-like walk of Bhimasena. 'It does not end with this alone!' Vrikodara said to him, turning halfway around. 'Soon, having slain you together with your kin, and reminding you of all this, I shall answer you, O fool.'
80fdc12dc175 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Bhima's vow seals what is to come: the terrible oath concerning Duhshasana's blood is not a thirst for cruelty for its own sake, but a promise of retribution proportionate to the baring of the thigh and the abuse of the queen — the measure of the sin determines the measure of the punishment. Duryodhana, meanwhile, mimicking the gait, piles fresh insolence upon old, not knowing that every mockery is added to the reckoning. Telling are Bhima's words, 'it does not end with this': evil imagines its triumph complete, but only the knot of retribution has been tied. The verse teaches that the unjustly triumphant multiplies his own guilt with every fresh taunt; that a vow made by the righteous in the hour of abuse cannot be revoked; and that one who mocks the departing does not see that he is himself paving the way to the very destruction he has just been told to his face.