Shloka 343
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय 128: दुर्योधनस्य परसेनाप्रवेशः
Duryodhana’s Incursion and the Tumult of Battle
भीमसेनमिदं वाक््यं प्रम्लानवदनो नृप: । तब राजा युधिष्ठिर म्लानमुख हो काले सर्पके समान लंबी साँसें खींचते हुए नेत्रोंमें आँसू भरकर भीमसेनसे इस प्रकार बोले--
sañjaya uvāca |
bhīmasenam idaṁ vākyaṁ pramlānavadano nṛpaḥ |
tataḥ sa rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ mlānamukho kāle sarpasamānā lambī śvāsān dīrghān niśvasan netrayoḥ aśrūṇi pūrayitvā bhīmasenam etad uvāca ||
Sañjaya said: Then King Yudhiṣṭhira, his face drained of color, spoke these words to Bhīmasena. With a downcast countenance, he drew long, heavy breaths like a dark serpent, and with tears filling his eyes, he addressed Bhīma—revealing the crushing moral weight and grief that war had laid upon him.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional cost of righteous warfare: even a dharmic king like Yudhiṣṭhira is shaken by sorrow, showing that adherence to duty does not erase compassion or grief; it deepens moral responsibility.
Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, overwhelmed and tearful, takes a long, heavy breath and begins speaking to Bhīma—setting the tone for a serious exchange amid the turmoil of the battle.