Shloka 29
धृतराष्ट्रस्य उपालम्भः तथा पाण्डव-समाश्वासनम् | Dhṛtarāṣṭra Reproved and the Pāṇḍavas Consoled
न त्वेतत् ते क्षमं राजन हन्यास्त्वं यद् वृकोदरम् । न हि पुत्रा महाराज जीवेयुस्ते कथंचन,“राजन्! आपके लिये यह कदापि उचित न होगा कि आप भीमका वध करें। महाराज! (भीमसेन न मारते तो भी) आपके पुत्र किसी तरह जीवित नहीं रह सकते थे (क्योंकि उनकी आयु पूरी हो चुकी थी)
na tv etat te kṣamaṃ rājan hanyās tvaṃ yad vṛkodaram | na hi putrā mahārāja jīveyus te kathaṃcana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, it would not be proper for you to slay Vṛkodara (Bhīma). For, O great king, your sons could not have remained alive in any way—their destined span had come to its end.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical restraint and acceptance of destiny: it is not righteous for the bereaved king to seek revenge by killing Bhīma, because the sons’ death is presented as unavoidable—bound up with their destined end—so retaliatory violence would be improper.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, the speaker cautions the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) against harming Bhīma (Vṛkodara). He argues that the Kaurava sons could not have survived regardless, implying their downfall was inevitable, and thus the king should not commit an unjust act in grief.