Shloka 24
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
भो भो राजलन्नवेक्षस्व पतितोऊहं प्रियस्तव । कि निमित्तं च पतन ब्रूहि मे यदि वेत्थ ह
bho bho rājan na avekṣasva patito ’haṁ priyas tava | kiṁ nimittaṁ ca patanaṁ brūhi me yadi vettha ha ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô roi, regarde ici ! Moi—ton cher Bhīmasena—je suis tombé. Si tu le sais, dis-le-moi : quelle est la cause de ma chute ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mightiest are subject to moral causality: in the Great Departure, each fall signals a specific ethical flaw or attachment. The verse frames the fall not as mere physical exhaustion but as an event with a discernible moral cause (nimitta), inviting reflection on dharma and self-scrutiny.
During the Pandavas’ final journey, Bhīmasena collapses. The speaker calls out to King Yudhiṣṭhira to look and to explain—if he knows—why Bhīma has fallen, setting up Yudhiṣṭhira’s later identification of the inner fault that led to this moment.