Shloka 31
बकवधोत्तर-प्रशमनम् | Post-slaying Stabilization after Baka’s Death
भीमसेन उवाच (एष ज्येष्ठो मम भ्राता मान्य: परमको गुरु: । अनिविष्ट क्ष॒ तन्माहं परिविद्यां कथंचन ।।) मातरं भ्रातरं ज्येष्ठं सुखसुप्तान् कथं त्विमान् | परित्यजेत को न्वद्य प्रभवन्निह राक्षसि,भीमसेन बोले--राक्षसी! ये मेरे ज्येष्ठ भ्राता हैं, जो मेरे लिये परम सम्माननीय गुरु हैं; इन्होंने अभीतक विवाह नहीं किया है, ऐसी दशामें मैं तुझसे विवाह करके किसी प्रकार कविताः नहीं बनना चाहता। कौन ऐसा मनुष्य होगा, जो इस जगतमें सामर्थ्यशाली होते हुए भी, सुखपूर्वक सोये हुए इन बन्धुओंको, माताको तथा बड़े भ्राताको भी किसी प्रकार अरक्षित छोड़कर जा सके?
bhīmasena uvāca | eṣa jyeṣṭho mama bhrātā mānyaḥ paramako guruḥ | aniviṣṭaḥ sa tasmād ahaṃ parividyāṃ kathaṃcana || mātaraṃ bhrātaraṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ sukhasuptān kathaṃ tv imān | parityajet ko nv adya prabhavann iha rākṣasi ||
Bhīmasena said: “This is my eldest brother—worthy of honor, my highest guide. He is not yet married; therefore I will not, in any way, become ‘the one who marries before him.’ How could anyone, even if capable and strong in this world, abandon these—my mother and my brothers, including my elder brother—while they sleep in comfort, leaving them unprotected, O rākṣasī?”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīma upholds dharma through two linked duties: honoring the elder brother as a guru-like authority (including not marrying before him) and protecting one’s mother and family rather than pursuing personal desire.
A rākṣasī proposes or seeks union with Bhīma. Bhīma refuses, citing that his eldest brother is unmarried and that he cannot leave his sleeping mother and brothers unguarded; his priority is family order and protection.