Shloka 34
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
कुर्वन् रथान् विपुरुषान् विसारथिहयध्वजान् । आरुज न् पुरुषव्याप्रो रथिन: सादिनस्तथा,संजय! वह पुरुषसिंह भीम रथोंको रथी, सारथि, अश्व तथा ध्वजाओंसे शून्य कर देगा एवं रथियों और घुड़सवारोंके अंग-भंग कर डालेगा। जैसे गंगाजीका बढ़ता हुआ वेग जलमय प्रदेशमें स्थित हुए नाना प्रकारके तटवर्ती वृक्षोंको गिराकर नष्ट कर देता है, उसी प्रकार भीम युद्धभूमिमें आकर मेरे पुत्रोंकी सेनाका संहार कर डालेगा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
kurvan rathān vipuruṣān visārathihayadhvajān |
ārujan puruṣavyāpro rathinaḥ sādinastathā, sañjaya |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O Sañjaya, that mighty man Bhīma, exerting himself in battle, will render the chariots bereft of warriors—stripped of charioteer, horses, and banner—and he will shatter the limbs and strength of both chariot-fighters and horsemen. As the swelling current of the Gaṅgā, surging through a water-filled tract, uproots and destroys many kinds of trees along the banks, so will Bhīma, entering the battlefield, bring about the destruction of my sons’ army.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral psychology of impending war: when adharma-driven choices harden into conflict, even the powerful cannot escape the consequences. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s fear reflects awareness that injustice toward the Pāṇḍavas will invite overwhelming retribution, embodied in Bhīma’s unstoppable force.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, speaking to Sañjaya, predicts Bhīma’s battlefield devastation—chariots left empty of fighters and stripped of charioteer, horses, and banner, with chariot-warriors and cavalry broken. He reinforces the prediction with a simile: Bhīma’s onslaught will be like the rising Gaṅgā uprooting riverside trees.