Shloka 10

Adhyāya 129 — Public Acclaim of the Pāṇḍavas and Duryodhana’s Appeal to Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devanagari script

यतः प्रसुप्तं मन्ये5हं भीम॑ नेति हतस्तु सः । इत्युक्ता च ततः कुन्ती धर्मराजेन धीमता,“जहाँ मैं भीमसेनको सोया हुआ समझता था, वहीं किसीने उसे मार तो नहीं डाला?! बुद्धिमान्‌ धर्मराजके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर कुन्ती “हाय-हाय” करके घबरा उठी और युधिष्ठिससे बोली--“'बेटा! मैंने भीमको नहीं देखा है। वह मेरे पास आया ही नहीं

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | yataḥ prasuptaṃ manye 'haṃ bhīma neti hataḥ tu saḥ | ity uktā ca tataḥ kuntī dharmarājena dhīmatā |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “From the very place where I thought Bhīma was asleep—could it be that someone has killed him?” When the wise Dharmarāja spoke thus, Kuntī, struck with alarm and lamentation, replied to Yudhiṣṭhira that she had not seen Bhīma and that he had not come to her.

Word by Word

• {'yataḥ': 'from where

• from the place where', 'prasuptam': 'asleep

• sleeping', 'manye': 'I think

• I suppose', 'aham': 'I', 'bhīma': 'Bhīma (Bhīmasena), the strong Pāṇḍava', 'na iti': 'not (so)

• ‘is it not…?’ (interrogative nuance in context)', 'hataḥ': 'killed

• slain', 'tu': 'but

• indeed', 'saḥ': 'he', 'iti uktā': 'thus addressed

• having been spoken to', 'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'kuntī': 'Kuntī (mother of the Pāṇḍavas)', 'dharmarājena': 'by Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira), ‘king of dharma’', 'dhīmatā': 'by the intelligent/wise one'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhīma (Bhīmasena)
• Kuntī
• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the dharmic and composed leader must remain vigilant for the safety of dependents; concern for a brother’s welfare is presented as a righteous responsibility, not mere fear.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja) realizes Bhīma is not where he was expected to be and fears he may have been killed; Kuntī, alarmed, admits she has not seen Bhīma and that he did not come to her.