Shloka 29
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
ईदशैर्यद्यहं दु:ःखैर्न विनश्यामि संजय
īdṛśair yady ahaṃ duḥkhair na vinaśyāmi saṃjaya
“If I do not perish, Saṃjaya, even under such sufferings…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line foregrounds steadfastness: even when overwhelmed by extreme duḥkha, one is urged (or shown) to endure without collapsing. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical atmosphere, such endurance is tied to facing the consequences of war and fate with inner firmness rather than surrendering to despair.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, narrating to Janamejaya, reports a statement addressed to Saṃjaya. The speaker expresses that despite “such” intense sufferings, they have not yet perished—an unfinished conditional that heightens the sense of ongoing calamity and the psychological strain surrounding the events of the Karṇa Parva.