Shloka 26
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
युधिष्ठिरने कहा--भीमसेन! तुम बहुत खाते थे और दूसरोंको कुछ भी न समझकर अपने बलकी डींग हाँका करते थे; इसीसे तुम्हें भी धराशायी होना पड़ा है ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—bhīmasena! tvaṃ bahu aśnāsi, anyān avamanyamānaḥ sva-balaṃ ślāghase; tasmād api tvaṃ dharaṇyāṃ nipatitaḥ. ity uktvā taṃ mahābāhur jagāma anavalokayan; śaśvāpy eko ’nuyayau yas te bahuśaḥ kīrtito mayā.
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Bhīmasena, you ate excessively, and, disregarding others, you boasted of your own strength; therefore you too have fallen to the ground.” Having spoken thus, the mighty-armed Yudhiṣṭhira went on without looking back. Yet one companion still followed—he whom I have praised many times.
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links moral failings—excess (overindulgence) and prideful self-assertion that disregards others—to inevitable downfall. It underscores dharma as self-restraint and humility, even for the powerful.
During the great final journey (mahāprasthāna), Bhīma collapses. Yudhiṣṭhira explains the ethical cause of Bhīma’s fall and continues onward without looking back; only one companion remains following him.