Shloka 6

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule

Devanagari script

कथं नागायुतप्राणो बाहुशाली वृकोदर: । परिक्लिश्यन्नपि क्रोधं धृतवान्‌ वै द्विजोत्तम,द्विजोत्तम! अपनी विशाल भुजाओंसे सुशोभित होनेवाले भीमसेनमें तो दस हजार हाथियोंका बल था। फिर उन्होंने क्लेश उठाते हुए भी क्रोधको किसलिये रोक रखा था?

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca |

kathaṁ nāgāyutaprāṇo bāhuśālī vṛkodaraḥ |

parikliśyann api krodhaṁ dhṛtavān vai dvijottama ||

Translation

Janamejaya sprach: „O Bester der Zweifachgeborenen, wie vermochte Vṛkodara—Bhīma mit den mächtigen Armen, dessen Kraft der von zehntausend Elefanten glich—selbst im Leiden seinen Zorn zu zügeln? Welcher dharmische Entschluss oder welche Erwägung ließ ihn ihn zurückhalten?“

Word by Word

कथम्how?

नागायुतप्राणःhaving the strength of ten-thousand elephants

बाहुशालीstrong-armed

वृकोदरःVṛkodara (Bhīma)

परिक्लिश्यन्being afflicted/struggling

अपिeven/though

क्रोधम्anger

धृतवान्held back/controlled

वैindeed

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

Dvijottama (addressed sage, traditionally Vaiśaṃpāyana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that true strength includes restraint: even one capable of overwhelming force is praised for holding back anger under suffering, implying that dharma often requires self-mastery rather than immediate retaliation.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the sage to explain why Bhīma—renowned for immense, elephant-like strength—endured distress yet restrained his wrath, seeking the moral and situational reasons behind Bhīma’s self-control.