Shloka 14
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
ततो निवेद्य तद् राष्ट्र चेदिराजो विशाम्पते । उवाच भीम॑ प्रहसन् किमिदं कुरुषेडनघ,महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
tato nivedya tad rāṣṭraṃ cedirājo viśāṃ pate | uvāca bhīmaṃ prahasan kim idaṃ kuruṣe ’n agha | mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hastyaśvarathapūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārdūlo dviṣacchokavivardhanaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Alors le roi de Cedi, ô maître des peuples, après avoir confié ce royaume, s’adressa à Bhīma en souriant : “Ô irréprochable, que fais-tu donc ? Entouré d’une grande roue de forces—puissante, broyant les royaumes d’autrui—pleine d’éléphants, de chevaux et de chars, et tout armé ; toi, tigre parmi les Bhārata, accroissant le deuil de tes ennemis…”»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds rajadharma: a kṣatriya’s obligation to act decisively for political order (including conquest and subjugation) while also exposing the ethical unease such violence can evoke—here voiced as a smiling but pointed question to Bhīma about the nature of his action.
As the Pandava campaign of conquest is underway, the king of Cedi hands over his realm and then addresses Bhīma, noting Bhīma’s massive, well-equipped army and his reputation for crushing enemy kingdoms, and asks him—‘Blameless one, what are you doing?’