Shloka 20
Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)
जटासुरात् परिकलेशं चित्रसेनेन चाहवम् । सैन्धवाच्च परिक्लेशं कथं विस्मृतवानसि,“जटासुरसे जो वष्ट प्राप्त हुआ, चित्रसेनके साथ जो युद्ध करना पड़ा और सिंधुराज जयद्रथके कारण जो अपमानजनक दुःख भोगना पड़ा--ये सारी बातें आप कैसे भूल गये?
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Jaṭāsurāt parikleśaṃ Citraseṇena cāhavam | Saindhavāc ca parikleśaṃ kathaṃ vismṛtavān asi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “How have you forgotten the hardship caused by Jaṭāsura, the battle you had to wage with Citraseṇa, and the humiliating suffering inflicted by the king of Sindhu (Jayadratha)? How could all these experiences slip from your memory?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores moral recollection: past hardships and humiliations are meant to inform present judgment and restraint. Forgetting the lessons of suffering can lead one to repeat errors and lose ethical clarity.
Vaiśampāyana reminds the listener of three earlier ordeals—trouble from Jaṭāsura, a battle with the Gandharva Citraseṇa, and the disgrace caused by Jayadratha—challenging how such significant events could be forgotten.