Shloka 33
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
ततो भीमो महाबाहुर्दृष्टया राजानमाहवे,तब शत्रुविजयी महाबाहु भीमसेन समरभूमिमें राजा युधिष्छिरको मृत्युके मुखमें पड़े हुएके समान मद्रराजके रथके समीप पहुँचा हुआ देखकर युद्धके लिये वहाँ आ पहुँचे
tato bhīmo mahābāhur dṛṣṭvā rājānam āhave | tadā śatruvijayī mahābāhur bhīmasenaḥ samarabhūmau rājānaṃ yudhiṣṭhiraṃ mṛtyumukhe patitam iva madra-rājasya rathasya samīpaṃ prāptaṃ dṛṣṭvā yuddhāya tatra samupāgamat ||
Sañjaya said: Then Bhīma of mighty arms, seeing the king in the thick of battle, came there at once for combat. Bhīmasena—renowned as a conqueror of foes—beheld King Yudhiṣṭhira on the battlefield as though fallen into the very mouth of Death, having come close to the chariot of the Madra king; and, driven by urgent duty to protect his brother, he rushed to that spot to fight.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in action: when a righteous leader is endangered, a warrior’s duty is swift protection and decisive engagement. Ethically, it frames courage and loyalty as obligations in a just cause, while reminding that war places even the noblest at the edge of death.
Bhīma sees Yudhiṣṭhira dangerously close to the Madra king Śalya’s chariot—described as if Yudhiṣṭhira has fallen into Death’s mouth—and immediately rushes to that location to fight, intending to counter the threat and safeguard his brother.