Shloka 66
अध्याय ७५ — दैव-पुरुषकार-समन्वयः
Reconciling Contingency and Human Effort
अतिवादापविद्धस्तु वक्ष्यामि बलमात्मन: । यद्यपि स्वयं अपनी प्रशंसा करना सर्वथा नीच पुरुषोंका ही कार्य है, तथापि आपने जो मेरे सम्मानके विपरीत बातें कहकर मेरा तिरस्कार किया है, उससे पीड़ित होकर मैं अपने बलका बखान करता हूँ
ativādāpaviddhas tu vakṣyāmi balam ātmanaḥ |
Bhīmasena dit : «Piqué au vif par tes paroles excessives et insultantes, je vais maintenant parler de ma propre force. Bien que l’éloge de soi soit d’ordinaire le fait des hommes vils, tes mots, contraires à mon honneur, m’ont blessé ; ainsi, contraint par cet affront, je proclame ma puissance.»
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech has ethical weight: excessive or insulting words can provoke even the disciplined into self-assertion. Bhīma acknowledges that self-praise is normally blameworthy, yet frames his response as compelled by an attack on honor—highlighting the tension between humility and the duty to defend one’s dignity.
In the pre-war negotiations and confrontations of the Udyoga Parva, Bhīma responds to a verbal affront. Feeling dishonored by the other party’s harsh or overbearing words, he announces that he will speak of his own strength, signaling rising hostility and the hardening of positions before the war.