Shloka 38
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
कृत्स्नेयं पृथिवी देवी जरासंधेन धीमता । मागधेन्द्रेण बलिना वशे कृत्वा प्रतापिता
kṛtsneyam pṛthivī devī jarāsandhena dhīmatā | māgadhendreṇa balinā vaśe kṛtvā pratāpitā | parama-buddhimān ca balavān mahābalī magadharāja jarāsandhena iyaṃ sarvā pṛthivī sva-vaśaṃ nītvā pīḍayituṃ prārabdhā | kintu bhīmasenena bhagavatā śrīkṛṣṇena sārdham antaḥpure gatvā sa mahāparākramī nareśo nihataḥ |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «La terre entière, telle une déesse, fut placée sous la coupe de Jarāsandha, le sage et puissant seigneur de Magadha, et souffrit de son oppression. Pourtant Bhīmasena, accompagné du Seigneur Śrī Kṛṣṇa, entra dans son palais intérieur et abattit ce roi d’une vaillance extrême. Le passage oppose la domination tyrannique à l’éviction juste d’un oppresseur violent, montrant que la force n’est légitime que lorsqu’elle s’accorde au dharma.»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and intelligence become ethically meaningful only when aligned with dharma. Jarāsandha’s might is portrayed as oppressive domination of the world, while Bhīma’s force—guided by Kṛṣṇa—functions as the removal of a harmful tyrant, implying that strength is justified when it protects the wider order and relieves suffering.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls how Jarāsandha, the powerful king of Magadha, had subjugated and tormented the earth (the world’s kingdoms). He then notes that Bhīma, together with Kṛṣṇa, entered Jarāsandha’s inner palace and killed him, ending his oppressive rule.