Shloka 34
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
कुर्वन् रथान् विपुरुषान् विसारथिहयध्वजान् । आरुज न् पुरुषव्याप्रो रथिन: सादिनस्तथा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
kurvan rathān vipuruṣān visārathihayadhvajān |
ārujan puruṣavyāpro rathinaḥ sādinastathā, sañjaya |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Ô Sañjaya, ce puissant Bhīma, se dépensant dans la mêlée, laissera les chars sans combattants—privés de cocher, de chevaux et d’étendard—et il brisera les membres et la force des guerriers en char comme des cavaliers. De même que le courant enflé du Gaṅgā, se répandant sur une plaine inondée, déracine et détruit maints arbres des rives, ainsi Bhīma, entrant sur le champ de bataille, causera la destruction de l’armée de mes fils.»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral psychology of impending war: when adharma-driven choices harden into conflict, even the powerful cannot escape the consequences. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s fear reflects awareness that injustice toward the Pāṇḍavas will invite overwhelming retribution, embodied in Bhīma’s unstoppable force.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, speaking to Sañjaya, predicts Bhīma’s battlefield devastation—chariots left empty of fighters and stripped of charioteer, horses, and banner, with chariot-warriors and cavalry broken. He reinforces the prediction with a simile: Bhīma’s onslaught will be like the rising Gaṅgā uprooting riverside trees.