Shloka 2
भীমेन युधिष्ठिरस्य त्यागवृत्तेः प्रतिषेधः
Bhīma’s Rebuttal of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Inclination
आलस्ये कृतचित्तस्य राजधर्मानसूयत: । विनाशे धार्तराष्ट्राणां कि फलं भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! यदि राजधर्मकी निन््दा करते हुए आपने आलस्यपूर्ण जीवन बितानेका ही निश्चय किया था तो धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंका विनाश करानेसे क्या फल मिला?
ālasye kṛtacittasya rājadharmān asūyataḥ | vināśe dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ kiṃ phalaṃ bharatarṣabha ||
Bhima said: “O bull among the Bharatas, if you had already resolved to live in indolence—censuring and resenting the duties of kingship—then what benefit was gained by bringing about the destruction of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons? What ethical purpose did that ruin serve, if you were not going to uphold royal dharma afterward?”
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presses an ethical demand for coherence between means and ends: if one undertakes catastrophic action (war leading to the Kauravas’ destruction) ostensibly for dharma, one must then accept the responsibility of rājadharma afterward. Otherwise the ‘fruit’ of such destruction becomes morally empty.
In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira is despondent and reluctant to rule. Bhima rebukes him, arguing that if Yudhiṣṭhira intended to reject kingship and live in inertia while disparaging royal duty, then the very purpose of defeating Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons is called into question.