Shloka 18
मैत्रेयेणाभिशप्तश्न पूर्वमेव महर्षिणा । ऊरू ते भेत्स्यते भीमो गदयेति परंतप
sañjaya uvāca |
maitreyeṇābhiśaptaś ca pūrvam eva maharṣiṇā |
ūrū te bhetsyate bhīmo gadayeti parantapa ||
Sañjaya said: “Long ago, the great sage Maitreya had already pronounced a curse: ‘Bhīma will shatter your thighs with his mace.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality: a grave wrong and pride can draw a binding consequence, here expressed as a sage’s curse. Even in war’s chaos, dharma operates through accountability—harmful intent and misconduct return as fitting retribution.
Sañjaya recalls an earlier event: the sage Maitreya had cursed that Bhīma would break the opponent’s thighs with a mace. The statement frames the impending (or remembered) battlefield outcome as something foretold and morally charged, not merely accidental.