Shloka 146
न भीमसेन सम्प्राप्य निवर्तेत कदाचन । मनुष्य यमलोकमें भी जाकर लौट सकता है; परंतु युद्धमें भीमसेनके सामने जाकर कदापि जीवित नहीं लौट सकता
na bhīmasena samprāpya nivarteta kadācana |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Having once come face to face with Bhīmasena, no one ever returns. A man might even go to Yama’s realm and yet come back, but after confronting Bhīma in battle, he does not return alive.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the terrifying inevitability of death in righteous warfare when confronted by an overwhelmingly powerful warrior: moral courage and martial prowess can make battle a point of no return, highlighting the gravity of choosing war and the karmic finality it can bring.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anxious about the course of the Kurukṣetra war, reflects on Bhīma’s lethal strength. He expresses dread that anyone who meets Bhīmasena on the battlefield is as good as dead, using the hyperbole that one might return even from Yama’s realm, but not from Bhīma’s presence in combat.