Shloka 32
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
(ऐन्द्रवारुणवायव्यब्राद्याग्नेयैश्व वैष्णवै: । अग्नीन् संतर्पयन् पार्थ: सर्वाश्ैकरथो5जयत् ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
(aindravāruṇavāyavyabrāhmyāgneyaiś ca vaiṣṇavaiḥ |
agnīn saṃtarpayan pārthaḥ sarvāś caikaratho 'jayat ||
divyair astrair acintyātmā sarvaśatrunibarhaṇaḥ ||
divyaṃ gāndharvam astraṃ ca vāyavyam atha vaiṣṇavam |
brāhmaṃ pāśupataṃ caiva sthūṇākarṇaṃ ca darśayan ||
paulomān kālakeyāṃś ca indraśatrūn mahāsurān |
nivātakavacaiḥ sārdhaṃ ghorān ekaratho 'jayat |
so 'ntaḥpuragataḥ pārthaḥ kūpe 'gnir iva saṃvṛtaḥ ||
(kanyāpuragataṃ dṛṣṭvā goṣṭheṣv iva maharṣabham |
strīveṣavikṛtaṃ pārthaṃ kuntīṃ gacchati me manaḥ ||
tathā dṛṣṭvā yavīyāṃsaṃ sahadevaṃ gavāṃ patim |
goṣu goveṣam āyāntaṃ pāṇḍubhūto 'smi bhārata ||))
Vaiśampāyana said: “That very Pārtha—of inconceivable prowess, a destroyer of all foes—once satisfied Agni by employing the Indra-, Varuṇa-, Vāyu-, Brahmā-, Agni-, and Viṣṇu-weapons, and, mounted on a single chariot, overcame the gods. Displaying the divine Gāndharva weapon, and the Vāyavya, Vaiṣṇava, Brāhma, Pāśupata, and Sthūṇākarṇa missiles, he defeated the dreadful Paulomas and Kālakeyas—great Asuras hostile to Indra—together with the Nivātakavacas, all while alone upon one chariot. That same Arjuna now sits hidden within the women’s quarters, like a blazing fire covered over in a well. Seeing Pārtha—disguised in women’s dress—within the maidens’ inner apartments, like a mighty bull confined in cattle-sheds, my mind repeatedly goes to Kuntī. And likewise, seeing your youngest brother Sahadeva, made the keeper of cattle, coming among the cows in a cowherd’s guise, I turn pale, O Bhārata.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharmic restraint: even the mightiest must sometimes accept concealment and humble roles to keep a vow and protect a larger purpose. True strength includes self-control and patience, not only battlefield victory.
The narrator recalls Arjuna’s former cosmic victories with divine weapons, then contrasts that glory with his present condition in Virāṭa’s palace—hidden in the inner apartments in a woman’s disguise—while Sahadeva lives as a cattle-keeper. The speaker’s distress evokes remembrance of Kuntī and the Pāṇḍavas’ hardship during incognito exile.