Shloka 17
अध्याय ७५ — दैव-पुरुषकार-समन्वयः
Reconciling Contingency and Human Effort
न मे सीदन्ति मज्जानो न ममोद्वेपते मन:,मेरी मज्जा शिथिल नहीं हो रही है और न मेरा हृदय ही काँप रहा है। मधुसूदन! यदि समस्त संसार अत्यन्त कुपित होकर मुझपर आक्रमण करे, तो भी उससे मुझे भय नहीं है; किंतु मैंने जो शान्तिका प्रस्ताव किया है, यह तो केवल मेरा सौहार्द ही है। मैं दयावश सारे क्लेश सह लेनेको तैयार हूँ और चाहता हूँ कि हमारे कारण भरतवंशियोंका नाश न हो
na me sīdanti majjāno na mamodvepate manaḥ | madhusūdana! yadi samastaṃ saṃsāram atyanta-kupitaṃ bhūtvā mayy ākrāmet, tato 'pi me bhayaṃ na syāt; kintu mayā yaḥ śānti-kāḥ prastāvaḥ kṛtaḥ, sa kevalaṃ mama sauhārdaṃ eva | ahaṃ dayā-vaśāt sarva-kleśān soḍhuṃ prastutaḥ, icchāmi ca yathā asmākaṃ kāraṇād bhārata-vaṃśyānāṃ nāśo na bhavet ||
Bhīma declares that his courage has not faltered—his marrow does not sink and his mind does not recoil. Addressing Madhusūdana (Krishna), he says that even if the entire world, enraged, were to attack him, he would feel no fear. Yet the proposal for peace he has put forward is not born of weakness; it is only an expression of goodwill. Out of compassion he is ready to endure every hardship, wishing that the Bhāratas (kinsmen of the Kuru line) should not be destroyed because of the Pāṇḍavas.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength and fearlessness need not contradict compassion: Bhima insists that seeking peace is not weakness but deliberate goodwill, motivated by the ethical aim of preventing the ruin of one’s own kin and society.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Bhima speaks to Krishna, affirming his readiness to face any attack while explaining that the Pandavas’ peace overtures arise from friendship and mercy, to avert catastrophic destruction among the Bharatas.