Shloka 20
अपृच्छद् वाष्पसंरुद्धों नि:श्वसन् वाचमीरयन् । मम प्राणै: प्रियतम: क्व भीम इति दु:खित:,वे लंबी साँस खींचते और आँसू बहाते हुए गद्गदकण्ठसे पूछने लगे--“विशोक! मेरे प्राणोंसे भी अधिक प्यारे भीमसेन कहाँ हैं? इतना कहते-कहते वे बहुत दुःखी हो गये
apṛcchad vāṣpa-saṁruddho niḥśvasan vācam īrayan | mama prāṇaiḥ priyatamaḥ kva bhīma iti duḥkhitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Choked by tears, breathing heavily, and struggling to speak, he asked in anguish, “Where is Bhīma—dearer to me than my very life?” Saying this, he was overwhelmed by grief.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even amid duty and battlefield resolve, intense attachment and grief arise. It implicitly contrasts heroic ideals with the vulnerability of loved ones, reminding readers that dharma in war is shadowed by sorrow and emotional consequence.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra account, a grief-stricken speaker—his voice choked with tears—asks anxiously where Bhīma is, declaring him dearer than life. Sañjaya reports this emotional moment as part of the unfolding battlefield narration.