Shloka 29

Bhīma–Draupadī Saṃvāda on Restraint, Protection, and the Kīcaka Threat

Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 20

Devanagari script

नाल्‍पं कृतं मया भीम देवानां किल्बिषं पुरा । अभाग्या यत्र जीवामि कर्तव्ये सति पाण्डव

Transliteration

na alpaṃ kṛtaṃ mayā bhīma devānāṃ kilbiṣaṃ purā | abhāgyā yatra jīvāmi kartavye sati pāṇḍava ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Bhīma, einst habe ich gegen die Götter kein geringes Vergehen begangen. Durch Unglück lebe ich weiter an einem Ort und in einem Zustand, wo die Pflicht noch zu erfüllen ist, o Pāṇḍava.“

Word by Word

nanot

alpama little; small (thing)

kṛtamdone; committed

mayāby me

bhīmaO Bhima

devānāmof the gods

kilaindeed; as they say

kilbiṣamsin; offense

purāformerly; earlier

abhāgyāunfortunate (woman)

yatrawhere

jīvāmiI live

kartavyewhen (something) is to be done; in a duty

satibeing; existing (locative absolute)

pāṇḍavaO Pandava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīma

Devas

Pāṇḍava

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 the ethical weight of wrongdoing (kilbiṣa) against higher principles (the devas) and frames present hardship as connected to past actions, while insisting that one must still act where duty remains (kartavye sati).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker addresses Bhīma (and calls him Pāṇḍava), confessing a serious past offence against the gods and lamenting an ill-fated present situation, even as obligations and necessary actions still stand before them.