Mahabharata 4.33.59 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 33, Shloka 59
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 33 — Kuru Cattle-Raid and Matsya Mobilization (भूमिंजय-प्रेरणा)
भीम उवाच जीवितु चेच्छसे मूढ हेतुं मे गदत: शृणु । दासोस्मीति त्वया वाच्यं संसत्सु च सभासु च
bhīma uvāca jīvituṁ cecchase mūḍha hetuṁ me gadataḥ śṛṇu | dāso'smīti tvayā vācyaṁ saṁsatsu ca sabhāsu ca ||
قال بهيما: «أيها الأحمق! إن كنت تريد النجاة بحياتك فاسمع الوسيلة التي أقولها لك. في المجالس والمحافل العامة يجب أن تُعلن: “أنا عبدٌ/خادمٌ”» (أي أن تُظهر قبولك بحال العبودية شرطًا للعفو عنك).
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how speech and public self-identification can be used as instruments of power: survival is made conditional on accepting a socially inferior status. Ethically, it exposes coercion and the use of humiliation as control, contrasting force with dignity.
Bhima addresses someone he has subdued or is threatening. He dictates the condition for sparing the person’s life: the person must publicly proclaim himself a servant in assemblies and courts, thereby acknowledging subordination.
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