Shloka 8
Indrajit’s Binding, Restoration by Viśalyā, and Counsel Restraining Rāvaṇa (Āraṇyaka Parva 273)
कि नु शक््यं मया कर्तु यद् राजा सततं घृणी । त्वं च बालिशया बुद्धया सदैवास्मान् प्रबाधसे,परंतु मैं क्या कर सकता हूँ? राजा युधिष्ठिर सदा दयालु ही बने रहते हैं और तुम भी अपनी बालबुद्धिके कारण मेरे ऐसे कामोंमें सदा बाधा पहुँचाया करते हो
ki nu śakyaṃ mayā kartuṃ yad rājā satataṃ ghṛṇī | tvaṃ ca bāliśayā buddhyā sadaivāsmān prabādhase ||
Bhīmasena said: “What, indeed, can I do, when the king is ever compassionate? And you too, with your childish judgment, continually obstruct us in such undertakings.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between compassion and decisive action: Bhīma feels constrained because Yudhiṣṭhira’s habitual mercy prevents harsh measures, and he criticizes another’s naive judgment for obstructing necessary deeds. It frames a recurring Mahābhārata dilemma—how dharma can demand restraint even when force seems expedient.
Bhīmasena, speaking in the Vana Parva context, vents frustration that he cannot act as he wishes because Yudhiṣṭhira remains consistently compassionate, and the addressed person (unnamed in this single verse) repeatedly interferes with Bhīma’s intended actions due to immature reasoning.