Shloka 9
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
धनंजयो वा सुश्रोणि यमौ वा तनुमध्यमे । लोकान्तरगतेष्वेषु नाहं शक्ष्यामि जीवितुम्
dhanañjayo vā suśroṇi yamau vā tanumadhyame | lokāntaragateṣv eṣu nāhaṃ śakṣyāmi jīvitum ||
Bhīmasena said: “O fair-hipped one, O slender-waisted lady—if Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) or the twin brothers should pass into another world, I would not be able to go on living.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfast familial dharma: Bhīma’s life is bound to the welfare of his brothers, expressing that loyalty and responsibility to one’s kin can be so central that their loss would make life itself feel untenable.
In the Virāṭa episode, Bhīma speaks emotionally to a woman he addresses with affectionate epithets, declaring that if Arjuna or the twin brothers were to die (depart to the next world), he would be unable to continue living—underscoring the Pandavas’ mutual dependence amid danger.