Shloka 20
भीमसेनस्य आत्मबलप्रशंसा — Bhīmasena’s Assertion of Strength
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 74
तवैषा विकृता बुद्धिर्गवां वागिव मानुषी । मनांसि पाण्डुपुत्राणां मज्जयत्यप्लवानिव
tavaiṣā vikṛtā buddhir gavāṁ vāg iva mānuṣī | manāṁsi pāṇḍuputrāṇāṁ majjayaty aplavān iva |
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—তোমার এই বিকৃত বুদ্ধি যেন গোরুর মানববাক্য—অস্বাভাবিক ও বিকল। তেমনি এটি পাণ্ডুপুত্রদের মনকে উদ্বেগে ডুবিয়ে দেয়, যেমন নৌকা ছাড়া মানুষ গভীর সমুদ্রে ডুবে যায়।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Distorted judgment and unethical counsel do not merely misstate facts; they destabilize others’ minds and push them toward fear and confusion. The verse warns that unnatural, warped reasoning—like cattle speaking human language—signals a breakdown of proper discernment (buddhi) and harms those who must act under its influence.
In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war negotiations, Vaiśampāyana characterizes someone’s counsel as ‘vikṛtā buddhi’—a perversion of sound judgment. He says it overwhelms the Pāṇḍavas’ hearts with worry, using the image of boatless people sinking in a vast sea to convey helplessness and mounting anxiety.