Mahabharata
Bhīma-ajagara-grahaṇa-parva (Bhīma in the Serpent's Jaws)3.175.1-3
3383 / 15823
Mahabharata · 3.175.1-3
Devanāgarī

जनमेजय उवाच
कथं नागायुतप्राणो भीमसेनो महाबलः ॥
भयम् आहारयत् तीव्रं तस्माद् अजगरान् मुने ॥
पौलस्त्यं यो ऽऽह्वयद् युद्धे धनदं बलदर्पितः ॥
नलिन्यां कदनं कृत्वा वराणां यक्षरक्षसाम् ॥
तं शंससि भयाविष्टम् आपन्नम् अरिकर्षणम् ॥
एतद् इच्छाम्य् अहं श्रोतुं परं कौतूहलं हि मे ॥

Transliteration (IAST)

janamejaya uvāca
kathaṃ nāgāyutaprāṇo bhīmaseno mahābalaḥ ||
bhayam āhārayat tīvraṃ tasmād ajagarān mune ||
paulastyaṃ yo ''hvayad yuddhe dhanadaṃ baladarpitaḥ ||
nalinyāṃ kadanaṃ kṛtvā varāṇāṃ yakṣarakṣasām ||
taṃ śaṃsasi bhayāviṣṭam āpannam arikarṣaṇam ||
etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotuṃ paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me ||

Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जनमेजय उवाच कथं नागायुतप्राणो भीमसेनो महाबलः ॥ भयम् आहारयत् तीव्रं तस्माद् अजगरान् मुने ॥ पौलस्त्यं यो ऽऽह्वयद् युद्धे धनदं बलदर्पितः ॥ नलिन्यां कदनं कृत्वा वराणां यक्षरक्षसाम् ॥ तं शंससि भयाविष्टम् आपन्नम् अरिकर्षणम् ॥ एतद् इच्छाम्य् अहं श्रोतुं परं कौतूहलं हि मे ॥janamejaya uvāca kathaṃ nāgāyutaprāṇo bhīmaseno mahābalaḥ || bhayam āhārayat tīvraṃ tasmād ajagarān mune || paulastyaṃ yo ''hvayad yuddhe dhanadaṃ baladarpitaḥ || nalinyāṃ kadanaṃ kṛtvā varāṇāṃ yakṣarakṣasām || taṃ śaṃsasi bhayāviṣṭam āpannam arikarṣaṇam || etad icchāmy ahaṃ śrotuṃ paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me ||Janamejaya asks how mighty Bhimasena, equal in strength to ten thousand nagas, came to feel such intense fear before that python; for he, proud in his strength, had once challenged the descendant of Pulastya, Dhanada, to battle, and had wrought slaughter among the finest yakshas and rakshasas by the lake; he is curious to hear how this tamer of enemies came to be seized by fear.
Translation

Janamejaya said: "Muni, how did mighty Bhimasena, equal in strength to ten thousand nagas, come to feel such intense fear before that python? He, proud in his strength, once challenged the descendant of Pulastya, Dhanada, to battle, and wrought slaughter among the finest yakshas and rakshasas by the lake. Yet you say that this tamer of enemies was seized by fear and fell into distress. I wish to hear of this: my curiosity is great."

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976368fb7690 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:12:44 PM UTC

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