Shloka 26
Droṇotpattiḥ, Astralābhaḥ, Drupada-vairasya bījaṃ ca
The Birth of Droṇa, Acquisition of Weapons, and the Seed of Enmity with Drupada
भीम उवाच वृथामांसैर्व॑थापुष्टो वृथावृद्धो वृथामति: । वृथामरणमर्हस्त्वं वृथाद्य न भविष्यसि,इसके बाद भीम उस राक्षससे बोले--अरे निशाचर! तू व्यर्थ मांससे व्यर्थ ही पुष्ट होकर व्यर्थ ही बड़ा हुआ है। तेरी बुद्धि भी व्यर्थ है। इसीसे तू व्यर्थ मृत्युके योग्य है। इसलिये आज तू व्यर्थ ही अपनी इहलीला समाप्त करेगा (बाहुयुद्धमें मृत्यु होनेके कारण तू स्वर्ग और कीर्तिसे वंचित हो जायगा)
bhīma uvāca | vṛthā-māṁsair yathā-puṣṭo vṛthā-vṛddho vṛthā-matiḥ | vṛthā-maraṇam arhastvaṁ vṛthādyā na bhaviṣyasi ||
Bhima said: “O night-roaming fiend! Fed on flesh, you have grown strong in vain; you have grown great in vain; your very mind is vain. Therefore you deserve a futile death. Today you will not continue to exist—your life will end to no true purpose.”
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength gained through harmful, unrighteous means is ultimately purposeless; a mind oriented to violence and predation leads to a death without higher fruit (honor, merit), contrasting dharmic protection with demonic consumption.
Bhima confronts a rākṣasa who preys on beings and boasts of his power. Before engaging him, Bhima condemns the demon’s flesh-fed strength as ‘vṛthā’ (vain) and declares that the demon is fit for a futile end, foreshadowing his imminent defeat.