Shloka 40
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
समयं रक्षमाणानां भार्या वो न भविष्यति | भार्यायां रक्ष्यमाणायां प्रजा भवति रक्षिता,यदि तुमलोग प्रतिज्ञाके अनुसार तेरह वर्षकी अवधिका पालन करते रहोगे, तो तुम्हारी यह भार्या जीवित न रहेगी। भार्याकी रक्षा करनेपर संतानकी रक्षा होती है
samayaṁ rakṣamāṇānāṁ bhāryā vo na bhaviṣyati | bhāryāyāṁ rakṣyamāṇāyāṁ prajā bhavati rakṣitā ||
Dijo Bhīmasena: «Si seguís aferrándoos al ‘pacto’ jurado de contención, vuestra esposa no permanecerá con vida. Cuando la esposa es protegida, también quedan protegidos el linaje y quienes dependen de él».
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīma stresses a hierarchy of duties in a crisis: rigidly preserving a pledge is not righteous if it results in the death or dishonor of one’s wife; protecting the wife safeguards the continuity and welfare of the family (prajā).
In the Virāṭa episode, Bhīma argues forcefully that immediate protection of the threatened wife takes precedence over passive adherence to the agreed term of restraint, warning that delay will cost her life and thereby endanger the family line.