Shloka 50
Bhīmasena–Hanūmān Saṃvāda: The Tail Test and the Divine Path
अथापश्यन्महाबाहुर्गन्धमादनसानुषु,इसी समय गन्धमादनके शिखरोंपर महाबाहु भीमने एक परम सुन्दर केलेका बगीचा देखा, जो कई योजन दूरतक फैला हुआ था। मदकी धारा बहानेवाले महाबली गजराजकी भाँति उस कदलीवनमें हलचल मचाते और भाँति-भाँतिके वृक्षोंको तोड़ते हुए वे बड़े वेगसे वहाँ गये। वहाँके केलेके वृक्ष खम्भोंके समान मोटे थे। उनकी ऊँचाई कई ताड़ोंके बराबर थी। बलवानोंमें श्रेष्ठ भीमने बड़े वेगसे उन्हें उखाड़-उखाड़कर सब ओर फेंकना आरम्भ किया। वे महान् तेजस्वी तो थे ही, अपने बल और पराक्रमपर गर्व भी रखते थे; अतः भगवान् नृसिंहकी भाँति विकट गर्जना करने लगे। तत्पश्चात् और भी बहुत-से बड़े-बड़े जन्तुओंपर आक्रमण किया। रुरु, वानर, सिंह, भैंसे तथा जल-जन्तुओंपर भी धावा किया। उन पशु-पक्षियोंके एवं भीमसेनके उस भयंकर शब्दसे दूसरे वनमें रहनेवाले मृग और पक्षी भी थर्रा उठे
athāpaśyan mahābāhur gandhamādana-sānuṣu
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the mighty-armed Bhīma, moving along the slopes of Gandhamādana, caught sight of a supremely beautiful grove of banana trees spreading for many yojanas. Like a powerful lord of elephants stirring a forest and letting loose streams of rut, he rushed into that plantain-wood, creating tumult and snapping trees of many kinds. The banana trunks there were thick like pillars, their height comparable to many palm trees. Best among the strong, Bhīma tore them up with speed and began hurling them in all directions. Radiant and formidable, proud of his strength and valor, he roared terribly like the Lord Narasiṃha. Thereafter he also assaulted many great creatures—ruru deer, monkeys, lions, buffaloes, and even water-dwelling beings—so that, at the dreadful clamor of the animals and of Bhīmasena, the deer and birds living in other parts of the forest trembled. Ethically, the passage highlights how unchecked pride in power can spill into needless violence, disturbing the wider order of the wilderness even when no immediate threat is present.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and valor, when mixed with pride, can become indiscriminate and disruptive. The scene uses Bhīma’s roaring and destruction in the grove to show how unchecked force disturbs the wider ecological and moral order, implying the need for restraint (dama) even in a heroic context.
On the slopes of Gandhamādana, Bhīma sees a vast, beautiful banana grove and charges into it with elephant-like force, uprooting and hurling trees while roaring fiercely (likened to Narasiṃha). He then attacks various animals; the resulting uproar frightens deer and birds even in other parts of the forest.