Shloka 13
Bhīmasya paruṣa-vākyaṃ
Bhīma’s Harsh Speech Heard by Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī
'युधिष्ठिर! राजर्षियोंका यही परम धर्म है कि युद्धमें अथवा वनमें उनकी शास्त्रोक्त विधिपूर्वक मृत्यु हो ।। पित्रा तु तव राजेन्द्र पाण्डुना पृथिवीक्षिता । शिष्यवृत्तेन राजायं गुरुवत् पर्युपासित:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: “Yudhiṣṭhira! rājarṣīṇāṃ eṣa eva parama-dharmaḥ yat yuddhe athavā vane teṣāṃ śāstroktavidhi-pūrvakā mṛtyuḥ bhavati. Pitrā tu tava rājendra Pāṇḍunā pṛthivīkṣitā śiṣya-vṛttena rājāyaṃ guru-vat paryupāsitaḥ.”
Vaiśampāyana said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, this is indeed the highest dharma of royal sages: that they meet death in accordance with the scriptural rule—either on the battlefield or in the forest. And, O king, your father Pāṇḍu, protector of the earth, served this king with the conduct of a disciple, attending upon him as upon a guru.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a royal sage’s highest dharma as accepting a scripturally sanctioned end—either dying in righteous battle or in the forest through the disciplined path of renunciation—emphasizing that even death should align with śāstra and duty.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining the ideal code for rājarṣis and then recalls how Yudhiṣṭhira’s father Pāṇḍu served the reigning king with the humility and obedience of a disciple, treating him like a guru.