Shloka 28
Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya
Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City
इत्येतद् वो मया55ख्यातं विहरिष्याम्यहं यथा । इस प्रकार मैंने तुमलोगोंको बता दिया कि विराटनगरमें मैं किस प्रकार रहूँगा || २७३ || (वैशग्पायन उवाच एवं निर्दिश्य चात्मानं भीमसेनमुवाच ह ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
bhīmasena kathaṁ karma mātsyaraṣṭre kariṣyasi |
hatvā krodhavaśāṁs tatra parvate gandhamādane |
yakṣān krodhābhitāmrākṣān rākṣasāṁś cāpi pauruṣān |
prādāḥ pāñcālakanyāyai padmāni subahūny api ||
bakaṁ rākṣasarājānaṁ bhīṣaṇaṁ puruṣādakam |
jaghnivān asi kaunteya brāhmaṇārtham ariṁdama |
kṣemā cābhayasaṁvītā ekacakrā tvayā kṛtā ||
hiḍimbaṁ ca mahāvīrya kirmīraṁ caiva rākṣasam |
tvayā hatvā mahābāho vanaṁ niṣkaṇṭakaṁ kṛtam ||
āpadaṁ cāpi samprāptā draupadī cāru-hāsinī |
jaṭāsuravadhaṁ kṛtvā tvayā ca parimokṣitā ||
matsyarājāntike tāta vīryapūrṇo 'tyamarṣaṇaḥ |
vṛkodara virāṭe tvaṁ raṁsyase kena hetunā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Bhīmasena, ¿qué clase de labor podrás desempeñar en la tierra de los Matsyas? En el monte Gandhamādana diste muerte a los Yakṣas llamados Krodhavaśa—de ojos enrojecidos por la ira—y también a poderosos Rākṣasas; y trajiste muchos lotos para la princesa de Pāñcāla (Draupadī). Mataste al terrible Baka, rey de los Rākṣasas, devorador de hombres, para proteger a una familia de brāhmaṇas, oh hijo de Kuntī, domador de enemigos, y así dejaste a Ekacakrā segura y libre de temor. También abatistes al vigoroso Hiḍimba y al Rākṣasa Kirmīra, oh de fuertes brazos, volviendo el bosque ‘sin espinas’, seguro para los viajeros. Y cuando Draupadī, de hermosa sonrisa, cayó en peligro, la liberaste al matar a Jaṭāsura. Por ello, querido mío—colmado de fuerza y fiero en la resistencia—dime: ¿con qué papel o deber vivirás contento en la corte de Virāṭa?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary power must be governed by dharma and context: Yudhiṣṭhira highlights Bhīma’s past righteous uses of strength—protecting brāhmaṇas, rescuing Draupadī, removing threats—then asks how such force can be ethically and safely ‘reassigned’ into a humble, concealed role during the incognito year, where restraint and strategy are themselves duties.
As the Pāṇḍavas plan their year of concealment in Virāṭa’s Matsya kingdom, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīma about what occupation he can adopt at Virāṭa’s court. He recalls Bhīma’s famous feats—slaying Baka, Hiḍimba, Kirmīra, Jaṭāsura, and fighting Yakṣas at Gandhamādana—underscoring Bhīma’s formidable nature and asking what role will allow him to remain undiscovered and content.