Shloka 236
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproof and Vow-Logic: On Dice-Deception, Exile Terms, and the Governance of Anger
Adhyāya 35
छन्नमिच्छसि कौन्तेय यो<स्मात् संवर्तुमिच्छसि । कुन्तीनन्दन! आप अज्ञातवासके समय जो हम-लोगोंको छिपाकर रखना चाहते हैं, इससे जान पड़ता है कि आप एक मुट्ठी तिनकेसे हिमालय पर्वतको ढक देना चाहते हैं
channam icchasi kaunteya yo ’smāt saṁvartuṁ icchasi | kuntīnandana! āpa ajñātavāsake samaya jo ham-logoṁ ko chipākara rakhanā chāhate haiṁ, isase jān paṛtā hai ki āpa eka muṭṭhī tṛṇase himālaya parvatako ḍhakanā chāhate haiṁ |
قال بهيما: «يا ابن كونتي، تريد أن تُخفي هذا—ومع ذلك فمن هذا السبيل نفسه تحاول أن ترتدّ عنه. يا ابن كونتي، في زمن العيش متخفّين تريد أن تسترنا؛ ولكن ذلك كأنك تريد أن تغطي جبال الهيمالايا بقبضةٍ من قشّ.»
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhima highlights the ethical tension between necessary secrecy and practical reality: some truths—like the presence and prowess of the Pāṇḍavas—are too great to be hidden for long. The verse urges clear-eyed judgment (nīti) rather than wishful concealment.
During discussion of the incognito year (ajñātavāsa), Bhima addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, questioning the plan to keep the brothers hidden. He uses a sharp metaphor—covering the Himalaya with a handful of straw—to argue that such concealment is nearly impossible.