Shloka 115
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
सूदकर्मणि विश्रान्तं विराटस्य महानसे । भीमसेनेन कौन्तेय यत् तु तन्मम पौरुषम्,“कुन्तीकुमार! तुम्हारे भाई भीमसेनको राजा विराटके रसोईघरमें रसोइयेके काममें ही संलग्न रहकर जो भारी श्रम उठाना पड़ा, वह सब मेरा ही पुरुषार्थ है
sūdakarmaṇi viśrāntaṃ virāṭasya mahānase | bhīmasenena kaunteya yat tu tan mama pauruṣam ||
Sañjaya said: “O son of Kuntī, the great toil that Bhīmasena had to endure—remaining confined to the work of a cook in King Virāṭa’s great kitchen—was, in truth, the fruit of my own exertion.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between true merit and self-appropriation: arduous service and restraint (Bhīma’s hidden life in Virāṭa’s kitchen) can be ethically significant, yet others may claim credit for outcomes as their own ‘pauruṣa’ (personal prowess). It invites reflection on humility, rightful attribution, and the moral weight of endurance in dharma.
Sañjaya reports a statement in which he addresses a ‘Kaunteya’ and remarks that Bhīmasena’s heavy labor—living as a cook in King Virāṭa’s great kitchen—was, according to the speaker, the result of the speaker’s own effort. The line evokes the Pāṇḍavas’ period of concealment and the hardships borne under disguise.