Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
संजयाचक्ष्व मे शूरं भीमसेनममर्षणम् । अतिलाभं तु मन्ये5हं यत् तेन रिपुधातिना
sañjayācakṣva me śūraṃ bhīmasenam amarṣaṇam | atilābhaṃ tu manye 'haṃ yat tena ripudhātinā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, describe to me that hero Bhīmasena, the intolerant and unyielding one. I consider it an extraordinary gain that he has been slain by that destroyer of enemies.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to victory and hostility can distort moral judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames the fall of a formidable opponent as “great gain,” revealing a political, adversarial mindset rather than a dharmic concern for justice, kinship, or the human cost of violence.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to describe Bhīma, emphasizing his fierce, unyielding nature, and remarks that it is a major advantage that such a powerful enemy has been killed by an enemy-slayer—showing his anxious interest in the strength and fate of key warriors.