Shloka 15
Prabhāsa-tīrthe Vṛṣṇi–Pāṇḍava-saṅgamaḥ; Halī Rāmasya dharma-vimarśaḥ
Meeting at Prabhāsa and Balarāma’s Reflection on Dharma
स क्षुत्पिपासाध्वकृशस्तरस्वी समेत्य नानायुधबाणपाणि: । वने स्मरन् वासमिमं सुघोरं शेषं न कुर्यादिति निश्चितं मे,वे ही वेगशाली भीम इन दिनों भूख-प्यास और रास्ता चलनेकी थकावटसे दुर्बल हो गये हैं। इस भयंकर वनवासका स्मरण करते हुए जब ये हाथोंमें अनेक प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्र एवं धनुष-बाण लिये शत्रुओंपर आक्रमण करेंगे, उस समय किसीको भी जीता न छोड़ेंगे--यह मेरा निश्चय है
sa kṣutpipāsādhvakṛśas tarasvī sametya nānāyudhabaṇapāṇiḥ | vane smaran vāsaṃ imaṃ sughoraṃ śeṣaṃ na kuryād iti niścitaṃ me ||
“Though weakened by hunger, thirst, and the exhaustion of the road, that mighty and impetuous Bhīma—once he comes upon the foe with many kinds of weapons and arrows in hand—will remember this dreadful life of exile in the forest and, in his wrath, will be resolved to leave no enemy alive. This, to me, is certain.”
बलदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how prolonged injustice and suffering (forest exile, hunger, thirst) can harden resolve and intensify kṣatriya anger into a vow of total retaliation. Ethically, it warns that remembered wrongs can drive one toward uncompromising violence, showing the psychological fuel of vengeance in epic warfare.
Baladeva speaks about Bhīma’s condition during exile—physically weakened by hardship—yet predicts that when Bhīma finally encounters his enemies armed with weapons and arrows, the memory of the dreadful forest-dwelling will make him attack with such fury that he will not leave survivors.