को हि जीवितम् अन्विच्छन् प्रतीपं पाण्डवं व्रजेत् ॥
भीमं भीमायुधं क्रुद्धं साक्षात् कालम् इव स्थितम् ॥
वडवामुखमध्यस्थो मुच्येतापि हि मानवः ॥
न भीममुखसंप्राप्तो मुच्येतेति मतिर् मम ॥
न पाण्डवा न पाञ्चाला न च केशवसात्यकी ॥
जानन्ति युधि संरब्धा जीवितं परिरक्षितुम् ॥
ko hi jīvitam anvicchan pratīpaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ vrajet ||
bhīmaṃ bhīmāyudhaṃ kruddhaṃ sākṣāt kālam iva sthitam ||
vaḍavāmukhamadhyastho mucyetāpi hi mānavaḥ ||
na bhīmamukhasaṃprāpto mucyeteti matir mama ||
na pāṇḍavā na pāñcālā na ca keśavasātyakī ||
jānanti yudhi saṃrabdhā jīvitaṃ parirakṣitum ||
"For who indeed, wishing to live, would go forth against the Pandava, against Bhima, terrible in weapons, enraged, standing visibly like Kala himself? One dwelling in the very jaws of the submarine fire might yet be freed, even a man, but one who has reached Bhima's jaws would not be freed -- such is my thought. Neither the Pandavas, nor the Panchalas, nor Keshava together with Satyaki, enraged in battle, know how to preserve their own life."
9ebd605b0486 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:34 PM UTC
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One might conceivably escape the submarine fire of vadavamukha, but not from beneath Bhima's hand -- the image measures inescapability by an extreme comparison. Notable is the king's final word -- the Pandavas and their allies "do not know how to spare their own life": fearlessness that gives itself without reserve is more terrible than any cautious strength. The verse teaches that a warrior who does not cling to life for the sake of a righteous cause is unconquerable; and so what is most fearsome is not the might of weapons but the resolve that has cast aside self-preservation.