Shloka 23
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
वैशम्पायन उवाच इत्युक्त्वा प्रस्थितो राजा भीमो5थ निपपात ह । पतितश्चाब्रवीद् भीमो धर्मराजं युधिष्ठिरम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | ity uktvā prasthito rājā bhīmo 'tha nipapāta ha | patitaś cābravīd bhīmo dharmarājaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram |
Vaiśampāyana said: Having spoken thus, King Yudhiṣṭhira set forth onward. Then Bhīma suddenly fell to the ground. As he lay fallen, Bhīma called out to Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira and asked the reason for his collapse, as the journey’s moral reckoning began to reveal itself.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse initiates the ethical unraveling of the great journey: even the mightiest can fall when subtle moral residues remain. It frames the Mahāprasthāna as a test where inner dharma, not external power, determines who can continue.
After Yudhiṣṭhira proceeds onward, Bhīma suddenly collapses. While fallen, he calls out to Yudhiṣṭhira and speaks—setting up the forthcoming explanation of the moral cause behind his fall.