Shloka 40
अलायुधस्य भीमवधसंकल्पः
Alāyudha’s Resolve to Confront Bhīma
ततो धर्मसुतो जिष्णुं परिष्वज्य विशाम्पते । प्रमृज्य वदनं तस्य पर्याश्चवासयत प्रभु:,प्रजानाथ! तब धर्मपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिरने अर्जुनको हृदयसे लगा लिया और उनका मुँह पोंछकर उन्हें आश्वासन देते हुए कहा--
tato dharmasuto jiṣṇuṁ pariṣvajya viśāmpate | pramṛjya vadanaṁ tasya paryāścavāsayat prabhuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Dharmasuta (Yudhiṣṭhira), O lord of the people, embraced Jiṣṇu (Arjuna). Wiping his face, that noble ruler soothed and reassured him—an act of fraternal care and dharmic leadership amid the strain of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the violence and pressure of war, dharmic leadership expresses itself through compassion, restraint, and reassurance—strength shown as care for one’s own, not merely as force against the enemy.
Yudhiṣṭhira physically comforts Arjuna by embracing him and wiping his face, then speaks to calm and reassure him; Sañjaya narrates this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra as part of the unfolding events in Droṇa Parva.