Shloka 12
अभिवाद्य गुरुं ज्येष्ठं प्रययौ येन फाल्गुन: । तब भीमसेन पाए्डुपुत्र राजा युधिष्छिरको धृष्टद्युम्नके हाथमें सौंपकर अपने बड़े भाईको प्रणाम करके जिस मार्गसे अर्जुन गये थे, उसीपर चल दिये ।। ११३६ || परिष्वक्तश्न कौन्तेयो धर्मराजेन भारत
abhivādya guruṁ jyeṣṭhaṁ prayayau yena phālgunaḥ | tadā bhīmasenaḥ pāṇḍuputra-rājā yudhiṣṭhiram dhṛṣṭadyumnasya haste samarpya sva-jyeṣṭha-bhrātaraṁ praṇamya yena mārgeṇa arjunaḥ gataḥ, tenaiva mārgeṇa prayayau | pariṣvaktaś ca kaunteyo dharmarājena bhārata |
Sañjaya said: Having paid reverent homage to his elder and revered superior, Bhīmasena set out by the very route that Phālguna (Arjuna) had taken. At that time he entrusted King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Pāṇḍu, into the care of Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and after bowing to his eldest brother, he departed along the same path. And, O Bhārata, the son of Kuntī was embraced by Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)—a gesture of fraternal duty and moral solidarity amid the pressures of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the urgency of battle, righteous conduct is maintained through reverence to elders, obedience to rightful leadership, and safeguarding the king; the embrace signifies moral support and unity grounded in dharma.
Bhīma, after saluting a senior and bowing to his eldest brother Yudhiṣṭhira, entrusts Yudhiṣṭhira’s safety to Dhṛṣṭadyumna and then departs along the same route taken by Arjuna.