Shloka 40

Devanagari script

निगृहा तं बलाद्‌ भीमो विस्फुरन्तं चकर्ष ह । तस्माद्‌ देशाद्‌ धरनूष्यष्टौ सिंह: क्षुद्रमृगं यथा,वह राक्षस उनके हाथसे छूटनेके लिये छटपटाने और उछल-कूद मचाने लगा; परंतु भीमसेन उसे पकड़े हुए ही बलपूर्वक उस स्थानसे आठ धनुष (बत्तीस हाथ) दूर घसीट ले गये--उसी प्रकार जैसे सिंह किसी छोटे मृगको घसीटकर ले जाय

Transliteration

nigṛhya taṃ balād bhīmo visphurantaṃ cakarṣa ha | tasmād deśād dhanuṣy-aṣṭau siṃhaḥ kṣudra-mṛgaṃ yathā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Bhīma, gripping him with sheer force, dragged the struggling one—who writhed and thrashed to break free—away from that spot for a distance of eight bow-lengths, just as a lion drags off a small deer. The scene underscores Bhīma’s protective resolve and the decisive use of strength to restrain a violent threat.

Word by Word

निगृह्यhaving seized/held fast

तम्him

बलात्by force

भीमःBhima

विस्फुरन्तम्struggling/twitching

चand

चकर्षdragged

हindeed/for emphasis

तस्मात्from that

देशात्place

धनुःa bow (as a measure)

अष्टौeight

सिंहःa lion

क्षुद्रमृगम्a small animal/deer

यथाas/just as

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīma (Bhīmasena)

Rākṣasa (the struggling being, implied by context)

lion (simile)

small deer/small animal (simile)

eight bow-lengths (distance measure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Strength is ethically meaningful when used to restrain a harmful aggressor and protect others; the verse frames force not as cruelty but as decisive containment of a threat, illustrated through the lion-and-deer simile.

What is happening in the narrative?

A powerful adversary (a rākṣasa in the surrounding episode) struggles violently to escape, but Bhīma holds him fast and drags him away from the spot for eight bow-lengths, likened to a lion hauling off a small animal.