Shloka 5
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
स तथा तर्ज्यमानस्तु पाण्डुपुत्रैर्विशेषत: । विहीनश् स्वकैर्भुत्यर्निर्जने चावृतो भूशम्
sa tathā tarjyamānas tu pāṇḍuputrair viśeṣataḥ | vihīnaḥ svakaiḥ bhṛtyair nirjane cāvṛto bhūśam ||
So fand er sich, scharf zurechtgewiesen—zumal von den Söhnen Pāṇḍus—seiner eigenen Gefolgsleute beraubt und in einem einsamen Ort von allen Seiten bedrängt.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moral and social standing can collapse under justified reproach: when one is censured for wrongdoing or failure, allies and attendants may fall away, leaving a person exposed and isolated—an ethical warning about the consequences of conduct in public life.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes a figure who is being harshly reprimanded, particularly by the Pāṇḍavas, and who, having lost the support of his own retainers, ends up surrounded in a deserted place—depicting a moment of humiliation and abandonment amid the war’s tensions.