Shloka 3

भीमस्य बल्लव-प्रतिज्ञा तथा अर्जुनस्य बृहन्नडा-रूप-निर्णयः

Bhīma’s Ballava Vow and Arjuna’s Decision to Become Bṛhannadā

Devanagari script

आहरिष्यामि दारूणां निचयान्‌ महतो5पि च,इतना ही नहीं, मैं रसोईके लिये लकड़ियोंके बड़े-से-बड़े गट्टोंकी भी उठा लाऊँगा, जिस महान्‌ कर्मको देखकर राजा विराट मुझे अवश्य रसोइयेके कामपर नियुक्त कर लेंगे। भारत! मैं वहाँ ऐसे-ऐसे अद्भुत कार्य करता रहूँगा, जो साधारण मनुष्योंकी शक्तिके बाहर है

Transliteration

āhariṣyāmi dārūṇāṃ nicayān mahato 'pi ca

Translation

Bhīmasena déclare qu’il apportera de grands monceaux de bois—jusqu’aux fagots les plus massifs—pour la cuisine royale. En accomplissant un labeur si redoutable, au-delà des forces des hommes ordinaires, il entend rendre sa puissance évidente afin que le roi Virāṭa l’affecte au service des cuisines. L’arrière-plan moral est celui d’une retenue stratégique : manifester son utilité sans dévoiler son identité, et ainsi soutenir le vœu de dissimulation.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'āhariṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall bring

• I will fetch (future of √hṛ with ā-)'}, {'term': 'dārūṇām', 'definition': 'of woods

• of firewood (genitive plural of dāru)'}, {'term': 'nicayān', 'definition': 'heaps, piles, collections (accusative plural of nicaya)'}, {'term': 'mahataḥ', 'definition': 'great, large (genitive/ablative singular of mahat

• here qualifying the heaps/bundles by sense)'}, {'term': 'api', 'definition': 'even, also'}, {'term': 'ca', 'definition': 'and'}]

Speaker

भीमसेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• King Virāṭa
• firewood (dāru)
• kitchen/cook’s work (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

To uphold one’s vow and larger duty, one may adopt humble service and controlled self-display—using strength for protection and livelihood without ego or disclosure, aligning capability with dharma and circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the incognito year in Virāṭa’s kingdom, Bhīma plans to secure a position by demonstrating extraordinary physical labor—fetching massive piles of firewood—so that Virāṭa will employ him in the royal kitchen while his true identity remains concealed.