Shloka 21
सर्वे संख्ये कुरवो निष्पतन्तु मां वा लोका: कीर्तयन्त्वाकुमारम् । सवनिकस्तानहं पातयिष्ये ते वा सर्वे भीमसेनं तुदन्तु,आज युद्धसस््थलमें समस्त कौरव धराशायी हो जायँ अथवा बालकोंसे लेकर वृद्धोंतक सब लोग मुझ भीमसेनको ही रणभूमिमें गिरा हुआ बतावें! मैं अकेला ही उन समस्त कौरवोंको मार गिराऊँगा अथवा वे ही सब लोग मुझ भीमसेनको पीड़ित करें
sarve saṅkhye kuravo niṣpatantu māṃ vā lokāḥ kīrtayantv ā-kumāram | savanikas tān ahaṃ pātayiṣye te vā sarve bhīmasenaṃ tudantu ||
Bhīmasena said: “Let all the Kauravas fall headlong in this battle—or else let the people, from children up to the aged, proclaim that it was I, Bhīmasena, who fell on the field. Alone I shall strike down all those Kauravas; or let them all together assail and torment me, Bhīmasena. Today the issue will be decided on the battlefield.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of unwavering resolve: Bhīma frames the day’s outcome as either total victory over the Kauravas or his own fall, accepting public judgment and fame as secondary to fulfilling his martial duty.
On the battlefield in Karṇa Parva, Bhīmasena declares a fierce determination: he will single-handedly bring down the Kaurava forces, or else they may collectively strike him down—either way, the decisive confrontation will occur that day.