Shloka 35
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
व्याप्र उवाच कि शोचसि महाप्राज्ञ त्वं नो बुद्धिमतां वर: । अशित्वा पिशितान्यद्य विहरिष्यामहे वयम्,तब बाघने पूछा--महामते! क्यों सोचमें पड़े हो? हमलोगोंमें तुम्हीं सबसे बड़े बुद्धिमान हो। आज इस हरिणका मांस खाकर हमलोग मौजसे घूमें-फिरेंगे
vyāghra uvāca: kiṃ śocasi mahāprājña tvaṃ no buddhimatāṃ varaḥ | aśitvā piśitāny adya viharīṣyāmahe vayam ||
The tiger said: “Why do you grieve, O great-minded one? Among us you are the best of the intelligent. Today, after eating this flesh, we shall roam about in enjoyment.”
व्याप्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intelligence can be rhetorically used to silence moral hesitation: the tiger appeals to the other’s reputation for wisdom to normalize an unethical act (killing/eating) and to prioritize immediate pleasure over reflective restraint.
A tiger addresses a companion described as very wise, questioning his sorrow or hesitation and proposing that they eat the flesh that day and then wander about enjoying themselves—pressuring him to agree to the act and its consequences.