Shloka 28
Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya
Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City
इत्येतद् वो मया55ख्यातं विहरिष्याम्यहं यथा । इस प्रकार मैंने तुमलोगोंको बता दिया कि विराटनगरमें मैं किस प्रकार रहूँगा || २७३ || (वैशग्पायन उवाच एवं निर्दिश्य चात्मानं भीमसेनमुवाच ह ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
bhīmasena kathaṁ karma mātsyaraṣṭre kariṣyasi |
hatvā krodhavaśāṁs tatra parvate gandhamādane |
yakṣān krodhābhitāmrākṣān rākṣasāṁś cāpi pauruṣān |
prādāḥ pāñcālakanyāyai padmāni subahūny api ||
bakaṁ rākṣasarājānaṁ bhīṣaṇaṁ puruṣādakam |
jaghnivān asi kaunteya brāhmaṇārtham ariṁdama |
kṣemā cābhayasaṁvītā ekacakrā tvayā kṛtā ||
hiḍimbaṁ ca mahāvīrya kirmīraṁ caiva rākṣasam |
tvayā hatvā mahābāho vanaṁ niṣkaṇṭakaṁ kṛtam ||
āpadaṁ cāpi samprāptā draupadī cāru-hāsinī |
jaṭāsuravadhaṁ kṛtvā tvayā ca parimokṣitā ||
matsyarājāntike tāta vīryapūrṇo 'tyamarṣaṇaḥ |
vṛkodara virāṭe tvaṁ raṁsyase kena hetunā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Bhīmasena, welche Arbeit wirst du im Land der Matsyas verrichten können? Auf dem Berg Gandhamādana erschlugst du die Yakṣas, die Krodhavaśa heißen—mit vor Zorn geröteten Augen—und auch mächtige Rākṣasas; und du brachtest der Pāñcāla-Prinzessin (Draupadī) viele Lotosblumen. Du tötetest den schrecklichen, menschenfressenden Rākṣasa-König Baka zum Schutz einer brāhmaṇa-Familie, o Sohn der Kuntī, Bezwinger der Feinde, und machtest so Ekacakrā sicher und furchtlos. Du erschlugst auch den kraftvollen Hiḍimba und den Rākṣasa Kirmīra, o Starkarmiger, und machtest den Wald ‘dornenlos’—sicher für Reisende. Und als die schön lächelnde Draupadī in Gefahr geriet, befreitest du sie, indem du Jaṭāsura tötetest. Darum, mein Lieber—voller Kraft und wild in der Ausdauer—sage mir: In welcher Rolle oder Pflicht wirst du am Hofe Virāṭas zufrieden leben?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary power must be governed by dharma and context: Yudhiṣṭhira highlights Bhīma’s past righteous uses of strength—protecting brāhmaṇas, rescuing Draupadī, removing threats—then asks how such force can be ethically and safely ‘reassigned’ into a humble, concealed role during the incognito year, where restraint and strategy are themselves duties.
As the Pāṇḍavas plan their year of concealment in Virāṭa’s Matsya kingdom, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīma about what occupation he can adopt at Virāṭa’s court. He recalls Bhīma’s famous feats—slaying Baka, Hiḍimba, Kirmīra, Jaṭāsura, and fighting Yakṣas at Gandhamādana—underscoring Bhīma’s formidable nature and asking what role will allow him to remain undiscovered and content.