Shloka 19
भीमसेनस्य आत्मबलप्रशंसा — Bhīmasena’s Assertion of Strength
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 74
अनित्यं किल मर्त्यस्य पार्थ चित्त चलाचलम् | वातवेगप्रचलिता अछ्लीला शाल्मलेरिव,पार्थ! कहते हैं कि मनुष्यका चित्त सदा एक निश्चयपर अटल नहीं रहता। वह हवाके वेगसे हिलती हुई सेंमलके फलकी गाँठके समान डाँवाडोल रहता है
anityaṃ kila martyasya pārtha cittaṃ calācalaṃ | vātavega-pracalitaṃ aślīlā śālmaler iva ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Pārtha, they say that a mortal’s mind is indeed impermanent—never firmly fixed in one resolve. Driven about by the rush of the wind, it wavers unsteadily, like the loose tuft on the śālmali (silk-cotton) tree.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human resolve is fragile: the mind does not remain fixed on a single decision and is easily shaken by external forces. The verse urges awareness of this fickleness so that one cultivates steadiness, restraint, and deliberate judgment in dharmic choices.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting before the great war, Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) with a reflective observation about the instability of the human mind, using a vivid natural simile to frame the moral-psychological atmosphere of deliberation and decision.