Shloka 101
फलमूलाशने शक्तस्त्वं तथातिथिपूजने । न त्वां शस्त्रसमुद्योगे योग्यं मन्न्ये वृकोदर,“वृकोदर! तू फल-मूल खाने और अतिथिसत्कार करनेमें समर्थ है। मैं तुझे हथियार उठानेके योग्य नहीं मानता'
phalamūlāśane śaktas tvaṃ tathātithipūjane | na tvāṃ śastrasamudyoge yogyaṃ manye vṛkodara ||
Sañjaya said: “Vṛkodara, you are capable of living on fruits and roots and of honoring guests; but I do not consider you fit for taking up arms in the enterprise of war.” The remark frames a moral contrast—between the virtues of austere, hospitable domestic life and the harsh competence demanded by armed conflict—cast here as a cutting judgment meant to belittle martial readiness.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes two dharmic virtues—ascetic simplicity (living on fruits and roots) and hospitality (honoring guests)—with the distinct competence required for warfare. It implies that virtues suited to peaceful, domestic or forest life do not automatically translate into fitness for violent conflict, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between multiple, context-dependent duties (dharma).
Sañjaya addresses Vṛkodara (Bhīma) with a disparaging assessment: he credits him with abilities associated with austerity and guest-reception, but denies his suitability for weapon-based engagement. In context, such speech functions as a taunt or rhetorical belittlement amid the war narrative, aiming to undermine or provoke the opponent’s martial self-conception.