Shloka 29
सत्यां चिकीर्षुर्मतिमान् प्रतिज्ञां भीमो5पिबच्छोणितमस्य कोष्णम् | आस्वाद्य चास्वाद्य च वीक्षमाण: क्रुद्धों हि चैन निजगाद वाक्यम्
satyāṃ cikīrṣur matimān pratijñāṃ bhīmo 'pibat choṇitam asya koṣṇam | āsvādya cāsvādya ca vīkṣamāṇaḥ kruddho hi cainaṃ nijagāda vākyam |
قال سنجيا: وقد عزم بهيما الحكيم على إنفاذ نذره، شرب دم دُحشاسَنَة وهو لا يزال دافئًا. وكان يذوقه مرة بعد مرة، ويحدّق فيه بغيظ، ثم خاطبه بكلمات قاسية جارحة.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding force of a vowed pledge (pratijñā) and how, in the extremity of war, the pursuit of fulfilling it can eclipse ordinary ethical restraint. It invites reflection on the tension between keeping one’s word and the moral degradation that anger and vengeance can produce.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma, determined to fulfill his earlier vow against Duḥśāsana, drinking Duḥśāsana’s warm blood. After repeatedly tasting it, Bhīma glares at him in fury and speaks to him, marking a climactic moment of vengeance on the battlefield.