Shloka 28
Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure
नामर्षयत कौन्तेयो भीमसेनो महाबल: । दुःखके कारण द्रौपदीका यह भाँति-भाँतिका विलाप सुनकर महाबली कुन्तीकुमार भीमसेन इसे सहन न कर सके ।। स काउ्चनविचित्राड्रमारुरोह महारथम्,विस्फार्य सशरं चापं तूर्णमश्वानचोदयत् । वे द्रोणपुत्रके वधका निश्चय करके सुवर्णभूषित विचित्र अंगोंवाले रथपर आरूढ़ हुए। उन्होंने बाण और प्रत्यंचासहित एक सुन्दर एवं विचित्र धनुष हाथमें लेकर नकुलको सारथि बनाया तथा बाणसहित धनुषको फैलाकर तुरंत ही घोड़ोंको हँकवाया
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
na amarṣayat kaunteyo bhīmaseno mahābalaḥ |
duḥkha-kāraṇaṃ draupadyāḥ evaṃ bhānti-bhānti-kam vilāpaṃ śrutvā mahābalī kuntī-kumāro bhīmasenaḥ etat soḍhuṃ na śaśāka ||
sa kāñcana-vicitra-aṅgaṃ ratham āruroha mahārathaḥ |
visphārya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ tūṛṇam aśvān acodayat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The mighty Bhīmasena, son of Kuntī, could not endure it when he heard Draupadī’s many-sided lament—born of grief and its causes. Resolute about slaying Droṇa’s son, that great chariot-warrior mounted a splendid, gold-adorned chariot of varied workmanship; stretching his bow with arrows ready, he urged the horses forward at once (with Nakula as his charioteer).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how grief can ignite a powerful impulse toward retribution; it frames Bhīma’s response as a kṣatriya’s decisive resolve, while implicitly raising the ethical tension between righteous justice and anger-driven vengeance.
Hearing Draupadī’s intense lament after the night massacre, Bhīma cannot bear it; he mounts an ornate chariot, readies his bow and arrows, and rushes forward determined to kill Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāmā), with Nakula acting as charioteer in the given account.