Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
पुनरेवाब्रवीद् वाक््यं यत् तच्छुणु नराधिप । नरेश्वर! इसी प्रकार शत्रुसेनाका संहार करनेवाले भीमसेनने क्रोधसे लाल आँखें करके फिर जो बात कही, उसे भी सुन लीजिये
sañjaya uvāca | punar evābravīd vākyam yat tat śṛṇu narādhipa | nareśvara! īsī prakāra śatrusenākā saṃhāra karanevāle bhīmasenane krodhase lāla ā̃kheṃ karke punaḥ jo bāt kahī, use bhī sun lījiye ||
Sañjaya said: O king, listen again to those very words. O lord of men, hear also what Bhīmasena—destroyer of the enemy’s forces—said once more, his eyes reddened with anger. The narration turns to Bhīma’s renewed speech, showing how wrath surges amid battle even in those fighting for a righteous cause.
संजय उवाच
The verse frames a moral tension common in the epic: even when one fights under the banner of dharma, the battlefield easily inflames krodha (wrath). The narrator’s emphasis on Bhīma’s reddened eyes signals how passion can overtake judgment, inviting reflection on self-control and ethical restraint amid violence.
Sañjaya continues reporting the Kurukṣetra events to the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He introduces Bhīma’s renewed utterance—spoken again in anger after destroying enemy forces—preparing the listener for the content and tone of Bhīma’s next words.