Shloka 29
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
जीप नो सहज अत णिरिवानक ततः :स्वनाम् | भीमसेनो :
bhīmasenaḥ pāñcālānāṃ senāṃ uttāla-taraṅga-vat vikṣubdha-mahāsāgara iva garjanāṃ kurvāṇaḥ | mahābāhur bhīmaseno daṇḍapāṇir yamarāja iva tāṃ viśālāṃ senāṃ praviśat, yathā samudre makaraḥ praviśet | gadādharo bhīmaḥ svayam hastināṃ senāyāṃ prapatat |
Waiśampāyana berkata: Pasukan besar Pāñcāla, dengan Bhīmasena di barisan depan, mengaum laksana samudra raya yang teraduk gelombang-gelombang menjulang. Bhīma yang berlengan perkasa, menggenggam senjata bak tongkat, menerobos ke dalam bala tentara itu bagaikan Yama—penguasa keadilan dan maut—masuk untuk menunaikan akibat yang tak terelakkan; seperti makara memasuki lautan. Dengan gada di tangan, Bhīma sendiri menerjang korps gajah, membelahnya dengan daya yang tak tertandingi.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses Yama and ocean imagery to suggest that in war, overwhelming force can be portrayed as the inevitable arrival of consequence—justice and retribution unfolding with a power that seems unavoidable. It highlights the epic’s tendency to frame violence not merely as personal anger but as part of a larger moral-cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Pāñcāla army roaring like a stormy ocean. Bhīma, wielding his mace, charges into the opposing host and specifically crashes into the elephant contingent, likened to a makara entering the sea—an image of fearless penetration and destructive momentum.