Shloka 21
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
विदितं हि तवात्यन्तं क्रुद्धाविव यमान्तकौ । भीमार्जुनी नयेतां हि देवानपि परां गतिम्
viditaṃ hi tavātyantaṃ kruddhāv iva yamāntakau | bhīmārjunī nayetāṃ hi devān api parāṃ gatim |
You know this perfectly well: when Bhīma and Arjuna are enraged, they become as dreadful as Yama and Antaka. Indeed, they could send even the gods to the final state (death).
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked anger in powerful agents becomes morally and socially catastrophic; therefore wise leadership must prioritize restraint and reconciliation. The verse frames Bhīma and Arjuna’s wrath as death-like, implying that preventing needless destruction is an ethical imperative.
A son addresses Kṛṣṇa, reminding him that Bhīma and Arjuna, if provoked, are capable of slaughter on a scale comparable to Death itself—so even the gods could be ‘sent’ to death. The statement functions as a warning to take the Pāṇḍavas’ resolve and capacity seriously in the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva.