Shloka 22
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
सापद्नवा: सदैवासन् पाण्डवा: पाण्डुपूर्वज । न चैतान् बहु मन्यन्ते पुत्रास्तव विशाम्पते,जनेश्वर! आपके पुत्रोंने नीच मनुष्योंकी भाँति पाण्डवोंके प्रति बहुत-से क्रूरतापूर्ण बर्ताव तथा छल-कपट किये हैं, परंतु आपके पुत्रोंका वह सारा अपराध भुलाकर पाण्डव सदा उन दोषोंपर पर्दा ही डालते आये हैं। पाण्डुके बड़े भाई महाराज! इसपर भी आपके पुत्र इन पाण्डवोंको अधिक आदर नहीं देते हैं
sa-apadnavāḥ sadaivāsan pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍu-pūrvaja | na caitān bahu manyante putrās tava viśāmpate ||
Sañjaya said: “O elder brother of Pāṇḍu, the Pāṇḍavas have always been forbearing and free from malice. Yet your sons, O lord of the people, do not hold them in due regard.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the Pāṇḍavas’ habitual forbearance and lack of malice with the Kauravas’ failure to honor them. Ethically, it highlights how virtue (kṣamā/forbearance) can be met with ingratitude, and how a ruler’s household should recognize and respect righteousness rather than exploit it.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing him as Pāṇḍu’s elder brother, that the Pāṇḍavas have long been patient and non-hostile, yet Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons do not properly esteem them—setting a moral frame for the conflict that has led to war.