Shloka 36
यत्र ते पुरुषव्याप्रा भ्रातरोडस्थ निपातिता: । तान् दृष्टवा दु:खितो भीमस्तृषया च प्रपीडित:
yatra te puruṣavyāprā bhrātaro 'ṣṭau nipātitāḥ | tān dṛṣṭvā duḥkhito bhīmas tṛṣayā ca prapīḍitaḥ ||
The Yakṣa said: “There, where your brothers—men of vigorous effort—lay fallen, eight in number, Bhīma, on seeing them, was overwhelmed with grief and at the same time tormented by thirst.”
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral test: intense bodily need (thirst) and emotional shock (seeing loved ones fallen) can cloud judgment. It prepares the ethical setting in which restraint, discernment, and adherence to dharma are demanded despite distress.
The Yakṣa describes the scene at the lake: Bhīma arrives and sees his brothers lying fallen. He is struck by sorrow and also suffering from thirst, setting up the tension that leads to the Yakṣa’s challenge and questioning.