Shloka 12
भীমेन युधिष्ठिरस्य त्यागवृत्तेः प्रतिषेधः
Bhīma’s Rebuttal of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Inclination
यथा शत्रून् घातयित्वा पुरुष: कुरुनन्दन । आत्मानं घातयेत् पश्चात् कर्मेदं नस्तथोपमम्,कुरुनन्दन! जैसे कोई मनुष्य शत्रुओंका वध करनेके पश्चात् अपनी भी हत्या कर डाले, हमारा यह कर्म भी वैसा ही है
yathā śatrūn ghātayitvā puruṣaḥ kurunandana | ātmānaṃ ghātayet paścāt karmedaṃ nas tathopamam ||
Bhīma said: “O delight of the Kurus, just as a man, after killing his enemies, would then go on to kill himself, so too does our deed resemble that—self-destructive after victory.”
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a successful act can become ethically ruinous if it culminates in self-harm or moral collapse; Bhīma frames their post-war situation as a victory that turns inward, highlighting the need to evaluate actions by their ultimate consequences for dharma and inner integrity.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective aftermath of the great war, Bhīma speaks with anguish, comparing their present course or outcome to a man who kills his enemies and then kills himself—an image of triumph followed by self-inflicted ruin, underscoring the bitterness and moral cost felt after the conflict.